News

MSHOF to induct Metcalf, McCaulley, Czerniewski, ’72 MSSU, Midway & Burchett

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will soon induct former St. Louis Football Cardinals running back Terry Metcalf, Branson sports radio broadcaster Scott McCaulley, former University of Central Missouri quarterback Eric Czerniewski as well as Missouri Southern’s 1972 NAIA National Championship Team, Midway High School coach Larry Burchett and the Midway High School Football Program.

They all highlight the annual Football Luncheon presented by the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company, set for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds’ E-Plex East Wing. President & Executive Director Jerald Andrews made public the honorees on Thursday, and also announced that former KOLR 10 TV Vice President & General Manager Leo Henning will be bestowed the President’s Award.

Additionally, the Hall of Fame will recognize the Elite 11, which honors former high school, college and professional players who made positive contributions to the sport or those who have contributed in meaningful way to the game. This year’s Elite 11 recipients are: Wayne Burch (Stoutland High School/Southwest Baptist University/Camdenton High School), Matt Burgess (Parkview High School/University of Missouri), Mark DeLozier (Kickapoo High School/University of Tulsa), Michael Fox (Meridian (Miss.) High School/Missouri State University), Jason O’Neal (Fair Grove High School/Southwest Baptist University), Kellen Overstreet (Penney High School/University of Wyoming), Mark Smith (Webb City High School/University of Arkansas/Kansas City Chiefs), Denny Routh (Reeds Spring High School/Pittsburg State University), Jared Taylor (Bolivar High School/Southwest Baptist University/William Jewell College), Brock West (Lebanon High School/Evangel University) and Brett Williams (Florida State University/Kansas City Chiefs/Lighthouse Christian Academy coach).

A sponsorship table of eight is $400, and a head table ticket is $100. Both include an autographed event poster and recognition in the printed program as well as at the table. An individual ticket is $50 in advance, or $60 at the door. Numerous other sponsorships are available, including congratulatory ads. Call 417-889-3100.

Leo Henning – President’s Award

Henning recently retired after serving for eight years as the Vice President & General Manager of Nexstar Broadcasting’s Springfield television lineup that includes KOLR 10, Ozarks FOX 5, KOZL and Ozarksfirst.com. He will be bestowed the President’s Award, presented to an individual who champions the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and supports athletics in the state. His counsel and support have been significant for the Hall of Fame, a 501(c)-3 not-for-profit, as well as the PGA Korn Ferry Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. KOLR 10 TV sponsors teams in the Hall of Fame’s Celebrity Golf Classics and other events. Henning also seen to it that the TV group promotes the PCCC, which benefits nearly 50 Ozarks children’s charities annually. Henning enjoyed a 47-year career in broadcasting that includes 33 years with Quincy Media and six years with Barrington Broadcasting. Henning is a graduate of Leo Catholic High School in Chicago and Quincy University.

Terry Metcalf – Long Beach State University/St. Louis Football Cardinals

Metcalf was the feature running back of the St. Louis Football Cardinals from 1973 to 1977 and was among the most versatile players during the coach Don “Air” Coryell era. In his National Football League career, which also included the 1980 season for Washington, he was a rusher, receiver and kick and punt returner who combined for 9,978 yards. Along the way, Metcalf earned three Pro Bowl selections, team Rookie of the Year honors in 1973 and, in 1974, was the United Press International’s (UPI) runner-up for NFL MVP and the team’s MVP. He helped the Cardinals to 10-, 11- and 10-win seasons in the heart of his time there — with the 1974 and 1975 teams winning the NFC East. Metcalf’s 1975 season saw him combine for 2,462 yards, a record in a 14-game season. He also was the first player in NFL history to average at least 30 yards per kick return and 10 yards per punt return in the same season. At Long Beach State University, Metcalf rushed for 2,432 yards and scored 45 TDs – including 1,673 yards his junior season, when Metcalf set an NCAA College Division record for rushing TDs (28), total TDs (29) and points (178). He was a third-round draft pick of the Cardinals and later played two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. These days, Metcalf is living in Seattle, where he is a kindergarten teacher and associate pastor of Holy Temple Evangelical Center.

Scott McCaulley – Sports Broadcaster

McCaulley has been the Sports Director at KOMC/KRZK Radio in Branson since 1990 and is in season No. 31 of covering Branson Pirate Football. A Springfield native, he graduated from Greenwood Laboratory School and was a member of the 1981 Class 1 state championship football team (MSHOF 2017). After graduating from Missouri State University in 1986, McCaulley held several part-time jobs, including covering sports for KWTO Radio and Telecable along with working as a part-time football coach at Greenwood. That was all before McCaulley headed to Branson, where he covered a majority of the career of coach Steve Hancock (MSHOF 2009) when the Pirates reached the playoffs 12 times, including a state semifinal berth in 1996. McCaulley has provided radio coverage of College of the Ozarks basketball and baseball and was the radio coordinator of the NAIA Division II men’s basketball tournament for 18 years – which included handling radio broadcasts of championship games. McCaulley has spent 10 years as part of the Evangel University football broadcast team.

Eric Czerniewski – Montgomery County High School/University of Central Missouri

Czerniewski (pronounced Sir-new-ski) led Montgomery County to the 2005 Class 2 state championship and a state runner-up finish. He ended his career as the state’s all-time leader in pass attempts (1,236), completions (775), yards (11,557) and touchdowns (140). And you could say that he was just getting warmed up. At Central Missouri, he won the 2010 Harlon Hill, considered the Heisman Trophy in NCAA Division II, and is the only player from Missouri to ever win that award. That season, he set D-II records with 5,207 yards passing, a nation-leading 46 TD passes and total offense (5,203). Czerniewski was a First Team D-II All-American by every publication in addition to the National, Regional and MIAA Offensive Player of the Year and also set 20 UCM records. He threw for more than 300 yards 10 times as a senior and finished his career fourth all-time in D-II with 12,847 passing yards, also an MIAA record. He was a three-time All-MIAA honoree, an MVP of the Cactus Bowl Division II All-Star Game and won the Vernon Kennedy Award as UCM’s Top Male Student-Athlete.

Missouri Southern 1972 NAIA National Championship Football Team

Missouri Southern State University won the NAIA national championship in 1972, beating Northwestern of Iowa 21-14 and completing a 12-0 season. Coached by Jim Frazier, the team consisted of numerous area recruits who helped navigate the Lions through a grueling schedule and dominating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) postseason. Members of the team included: Jerry Adkinson, Neal Alkire, Kerry Anders, Ron Barnes, Joe Balentine, John Busalacki, George Bruto, Larry Cameron, John Carter, Mike Cole, Bob Danner, Jack Duda, Doug Efird, David L. Evans, David S. Evans, Randy Fidler, Marty Galbraith, Fred Gnerlich, Randy Hacker, Roger Hall, Steve Hamilton, Ray Harding, Ted Heflin, Charles Hendricks, Larry Hill, Tyrone Hill, Randy Hocker, John Howard, Ken Howard, Terron Jackson, Jack Jewsbury, Sam Keohala, Barry Korner, John LaBlank, Mike Mitchell, Max Mourglia, Steve Muehling, Jim Nieman, Dennis Pendergrass, Bill Ruble, Ed Ryan, Paul Sallie, Terry Starks, Kent Stracke, Jack Varns, Stuart Ward, John Watson, Melvin Wilson, and Jeff Wolverton. In addition to Frazier coaches were Tony Calwhite, Charlie Wade, Jim Hoots and Ed Wuch. Managers were Ron McReynolds, Doug Guier, Henry Moyer, and Doug Dodd.

Midway High School Coach Larry Burchett & Midway High School Football Program

  • Coach Larry Burchett: Burchett is in his 45th year in high school coaching, with this fall marking his 32nd as the head coach of the Midway Vikings, with a record of 257-106 and a 1996 state championship. In fact, he has been a part of all six of Midway’s state championships either as a player, assistant or head coach. A 1971 graduate of Midway and a 1975 graduate of William Jewell College, Burchett was an assistant football coach at Midway from 1975 through the 1978 football season. He was then head coach at Owensville for a season, and returned to Midway, where Burchett eventually took over head coaching duties in 1988. Additionally, Burchett coached boys basketball from November 1980 through 2009, amassing more than 400 wins that included district championships in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1997.
  • Midway High School Football Program: Midway has been one of the most successful football programs in state history, with seven trips to the Class 1 state championship game and six state titles (1969, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1982 and 1996). The 1968 team was a state runner-up. Layne Phillips coached the Vikings to their first two state championships before Laural Hobick directed the next two. The 1982 team was coached by Gary Dercher, and the 1996 team was led by Larry Burchett. The Vikings have won 22 Western Missouri Conference championships, 27 district titles and earned 24 state quarterfinal appearances as well as 14 total semifinal berths (including the state championship game years). Along the way, Midway has produced 125 All-State players, and 50 have gone on to play college football.

ELITE 11

Wayne Burch – Stoutland High School/Southwest Baptist University/Camdenton High School

A graduate of Stoutland High School and Southwest Baptist University, Burch has been one of the most important behind-the-scenes workers for the Camdenton High School Football Program (MSHOF 2017). He has helped the Lakers since 1983 by filling some type of role, usually unpaid, and has been on hand for all but five of more than 400 games (home and road). That includes the Lakers’ five state championships. In the 1980s, he drove to Springfield each Saturday morning to have 16mm game films made for opposing coaches and, in the 2000s, would work past midnight making 10 copies of game films for each Lakers coach – and then exchange film the next day with opposing teams. In the early 2000s, he took charge of feeding the Lakers through their post-game fast food orders, managing 90 bags of burgers, and communicated between bookkeeping at the school and management at the Marshfield McDonalds. He also filmed varsity games for years and still tracks the stats for varsity games. Additionally, he oversees the Lakers press box for every football game from seventh grade through varsity. Burch also had roles coaching baseball, girls basketball and taught elementary physical education. In high school, he played basketball and baseball. At SBU, he played baseball and, as a freshman, was a player on the basketball team before spending two seasons as student manager and then student assistant his senior year.

Matt Burgess – Parkview High School/University of Missouri

Burgess played for coach Benny Lawson at Parkview High School in the mid- to late 1980s. In 1988, he earned Class 5 All-State honors and was First Team All-Ozark Conference, First Team All-District and All-Ozarks by the News-Leader. At the time, he was recruited by the University of Nebraska as well as the Air Force Academy but chose to walk on as part of new coach Bob Stull’s first recruiting class at Mizzou. During his Parkview days, Burgess also competed in field events on the track team, helping the Vikings place second in 1987. He also qualified for nationals in speech and debate and was a finalist in Student Congress in 1989. He went on to be a three-year letterman (1991, 1992, 1993) for Mizzou, playing as center at a time when future Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid was his position coach and Dave Toub – now with the Chiefs as well – was his strength and conditioning coach. Burgess earned All-Big Eight Conference honors in 1993 and later graduated with honors from law school and was on the law school review. He now holds the title of Associate General Counsel for Walmart in Bentonville, Ark., and has served the past eight years on the Bentonville School Board – and currently is its Vice President.

Mark DeLozier – Kickapoo High School/University of Tulsa

DeLozier was one among the top athletes in Springfield in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with his leg a big weapon for Kickapoo. He earned Class 5 All-State honors as a punter and kicker in 1989 and as a punter in 1990. As the team’s place kicker, he finished his career having scored 94 points. In 1989, DeLozier scored 47 points by kicking seven field goals and making 26 extra points in an 8-2 season. The following year, he contributed 23 extra points and three field goals for 44 points. DeLozier went on to the University of Tulsa, where he led the Golden Hurricane in punting each year from 1992 to 1995, with 222 punts that went for 9,074 yards – or an average of 40.8 yards a punt. His 14 punts in a 1994 game set a record – and remains tied for the most in school history. DeLozier, who played in the Hula Bowl his senior year, is a firefighter for the City of Springfield.

Michael Fox – Meridian (Miss.) High School/Missouri State University

Fox was inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014, for his outstanding play in helping the Bears’ 1989 and 1990 teams reach the playoffs in what is now the Football Championship Subdivision. A defensive lineman, he earned First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors both seasons, when he was second in tackles among the team’s D-linemen. As a junior, he equaled the Bears’ single-season sacks record (16) and finished his career with 27 sacks – which resulted in 168 yards in losses by opposing quarterbacks. Fox also led the Bears in forced fumbles and blocked kicks as a junior. As a senior, he led in forced fumbles, with two sacks in each of three different games. All this came after an outstanding prep career at Meridian (Miss.) High School and then Garden City (Kan.) Community College, where he was his team’s MVP and a Juco All-American. He lives in Springfield.

Jason O’Neal – Fair Grove High School/Southwest Baptist University

O’Neal has played a big role in Fair Grove’s football program. As a player, he helped the 1991 team open the season 10-0, and then he earned Class 1 All-State honors in the postseason. He later was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at Southwest Baptist University from 1992 to 1995, playing linebacker. As a senior, he was a team captain, and followed as a graduate assistant at SBU for then-coach Wayne Haynes. O’Neal later returned to Fair Grove as head coach, guiding the Eagles to a 49-20 record between 2008 and 2012 before becoming Fair Grove’s athletic director. O’Neal’s 2008, 2009 and 2011 teams were 13-1, 12-1 and 11-1, with the 2008 team reaching the state semifinals, the 2009 team reaching the state quarterfinals and the 2011 team advancing to the state sectionals. He has been the Assistant Superintendent for Logan-Rogersville since 2014.

Kellen Overstreet – Penney High School in Hamilton/University of Wyoming

At Penney, Overstreet rushed for 9,475 yards on 955 attempts – including 135 that went for touchdowns – and also had another 33 TDs. That led to his selection as a First Team Parade All-American in 2015, following an incredible senior season. That year, he rushed for 4,259 yards, which marked the fourth-best all-time single-season total in national high school football history and, thus, a state single-season record. He also fell only one TD shy of tying the national record of 71 TDs in a single season (65 rushing, four receiving, one on kickoff return), although that figure set a new state record. His 426 points in 2014 did establish a new national record. Penney finished 11-3, reaching the Class 1 state semifinals. At Wyoming, he played two seasons before being befelled by injuries. As a freshman, he played in all 12 games, as a running back, receiver and kick returner. In 2017, after a redshirt year due to injury, he played in all 13 games, ranking second on the team in rushing with 481 yards.

Denny Routh – Reeds Spring High School/Pittsburg State University

Routh (pronounced Ruth) continued Reeds Spring’s tradition of producing solid football players and teams. He graduated in 1990 after a standout career in which he earned Class 3 All-State in 1989 as a linebacker. That year, he also was selected to the all-conference team at three positions – linebacker, running back and punter. That led to selection the East-West All-Star Game, and he left a lasting impression by earning Defensive MVP for the West squad. Routh then went on to play at Pittsburg State, earning varsity letters in 1991, 1993 and 1994. He was part of Pitt State’s 1991 national championship team.  He currently lives in Nixa, works in the tile and stone industry and his family has been active in the Nixa Schools.

Mark Smith – Webb City High School/University of Arkansas/Kansas City Chiefs

At Webb City, Smith was a three-time First Team Class 4 All-State selection (1989, 1990, 1991). As a freshman linebacker, he helped the Cardinals to an 11-1 record. Then he became starting quarterback the next three seasons, engineering the team’s 1989 state championship season and its 1990 state runner-up finish. Smith then played four seasons for the Razorbacks. He helped lead Arkansas to its first Southeastern Conference West title in 1995, making a team-high 115 tackles and earning consensus First Team All-SEC honors. He also led the team in tackles with 79 as a sophomore in 1994. Overall, he ended his career with 305 tackles, which ranks 16th in school history, and was a senior captain. One of his best games was against Alabama in 1993, when he tied the team single-game record with five tackles for loss. Smith also made a critical second-half interception against the Crimson Tide in 1995. Smith was a Butkus Award nominee his final two seasons and also played in the Blue-Gray Classic All-Star Game before playing two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is now working for Novo Nordisk.

Jared Taylor – Bolivar High School/Southwest Baptist/William Jewell College

Taylor earned All-State honors on offense following his senior season in 2001 for the Bolivar Liberators, having played wide receiver. He also was All-Ozarks, the All-District Offensive MVP and an All-District wide receiver and defensive back in addition to All-Central Ozark Conference at both positions. That year, he helped the team to the state quarterfinals and a No. 7 ranking in Class 3 by setting the school record for yards and receptions in a season. In college, he was a four-year varsity letterman and all-conference academic selection at SBU (2003, 2004) and William Jewell (2005, 2006), with Taylor serving as William Jewell’s team captain his senior year. Taylor currently is Assistant Vice President of Mid-Missouri Bank in Bolivar and serves on the Bolivar School Board. He previously was among the leadership of the Bolivar Chamber of Commerce for three years, serving a term as president, and also has worked at Duck Creek Technologies and Capstone Insurers.

Brock West – Lebanon High School/Evangel University

In an era by the passing game, West starred as the feature back of the Lebanon Yellowjackets and finished his career there with 3,776 yards rushing and scored 51 touchdowns. In 2012, as a senior, he set the program’s single-season rushing record with 2,080 yards – a record that has since been broken – and earned Class 5 First Team All-State honors. At Evangel, West was a four-year letterman and three-year team captain, leading the team in rushing in his final three seasons (2014-2016) with 1,746 yards combined. He also led Evangel in kickoff returns in 2015 and 2016 and was a two-time All-Heart of America Athletics Association selection in 2014 (second team running back) and in 2016 (second team kick returner). West recently completed his law degree at the University of Missouri and works for Husch Blackwell in Springfield.

Brett Williams – Florida State University/Kansas City Chiefs/Lighthouse Christian Academy Coach

Williams is in his first season as head coach of Lighthouse Christian Academy. He was fourth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003 and played through the 2005 season. All this came after Williams was a four-year starting lineman at Florida State University. He played in two national championship games for the Seminoles (in 1999, beat Virginia Tech; in 2000, lost to Oklahoma), helped Florida State to four Atlantic Coast Conference championships as well as the Gator and Sugar Bowls his final two seasons. Williams was a First Team Freshman All-American in 1999 by Football News, and in 2002 was a First Team All-American by the Sporting News, College Football News, the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press. He also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the ACC’s top offensive lineman, as both a junior and senior. These days, in addition to coaching high school football, Williams works for Federal Protection in Springfield.