Inductees

Back in the late 1960s in the central Missouri town of Eldon, while football fans cheered as he became an All-State running back, Rick Vernon was doing double duty. That is, he kept taking mental notes from his high school coaches.

“They were great influences,” Vernon said of football coach Bob Higbee and basketball coach Mack Greene. “Back then, just watching them was all the advice I needed – the way they talked to players, the way they worked with players.”

Vernon never forgot those lessons in nearly 40 years as a football coach, including 33 seasons leading Waynesville High School, and became one of the most successful in state history. Which is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Vernon with the Class of 2017.

His teams at Lone Jack and Waynesville were a combined 222-169 – the 25^th-best mark in state history – with his 2007 Waynesville Tigers winning the Class 5 state championship.

Along the way, he guided Waynesville to seven district titles, seven conference championships (five Mid-Missouri, two Ozark Conference), sent three players (L.J. Fort, Gijon Robinson and C.J. Mosley) to the National Football League and was named the 2008 Missouri Coach of the Year.

In fact, his work in Waynesville is all the more remarkable considering its unique place in the country.

A number of players came from military families stationed at nearby Fort Leonard Wood and St. Robert. Every year, a few new players arrived, joining the teens who had called Waynesville home for years.

Vernon turned it into a positive, as he threw his arms around the three communities.

“It took all three of us to be successful,” Vernon said. “We tried to develop a great family atmosphere so that, when players moved in, they didn’t feel left out. Instead of being just part of the team, they were now part of a family.”

“We had to. So many times, the players’ parents – be it the mother or father – were deployed overseas, and they could not come to see their son play a football game,” Vernon said. “And, until now with social media, they couldn’t even see them play on game film.”

In other words, the guiding hands of his high school coaches served Vernon well. So did patience.

After he played and graduated from the University of Central Missouri, Vernon got his first assistant coaching job in Odessa in 1976 and, after two seasons, spent four seasons in Lone Jack. In essence, he climbed the ladder the right way, learning along the way. For instance, he had only one assistant and two volunteers on staff at Lone Jack.

“You learned to do a lot and learned all the phases of leading a program,” Vernon said. “Being there really prepared me to go on and get ready for Waynesville.”

From there, he and his wife carved out a great life in Waynesville – with Cheryl as the school’s longtime cheer coach and their sons, Brian and Brent, eventually playing for Dad. In fact, at one point, Brian was a Tigers assistant with Brent on the roster.

Meanwhile, Vernon wasn’t afraid to adjust to his players’ talent level. He also took the extra step of keeping his playbooks simple so that any new student could transition easily.

In the early years, Vernon’s offenses ran from the power-I formation, eventually transitioned to the veer and, about 15 years ago, turned to the run-and-pass, spread offense.

Waynesville also played a 4-4 defense until 2006, when Vernon OK’d a change to the 3-5, which showcased players’ athletic ability.

To Vernon, the switch fed into the 2007 state championship season – which he acknowledged was a state title for all his Waynesville players and coaches who had come and gone.

“We had other teams, before and after ’07, that were very comparable,” Vernon said. “Kids worked very hard, and we ended up going all the way to the championship. It was a complete team effort.”

Vernon also credits support of the Waynesville school district, all of his assistant coaches and families, especially for their confidence in an occasional lean year.

In 2006, Vernon was inducted into the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and, in 2009, retired from coaching Waynesville. He is now a volunteer with the nearby Missouri S&T football program.

“When we moved here, we said we wanted to make a home here,” Vernon said. “It’s a great place to coach and to raise a family. I don’t think you could ask for much more.”