Inductees

In Aurora, Kelly Stadium is a perfect setting under the Friday night lights of small-town high school football: See the graying grain elevators just down the road? They tower over everything, reminding all that this is a blue-collar community that proudly wears its red.

Red, that is, for the Houn’ Dawgs.

What a tradition. Grade-schoolers grow up dreaming of creating more glory. Old-timers set their clocks to the fall. And the gridiron success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the Aurora High School Football Program with the Class of 2019.

Aurora has become one of the most respected programs in the state, having finished as the No. 1-ranked team in 1965 before going on to win two state championships in 1969 and 1999. Additionally, the program has earned 13 playoff berths, reaching the state semifinals in 1981 and 2015.

Along the way, Aurora has won 10 district championships (1980, 1981, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2002, 2003) as well as 15 conference championships (1913, 1934, 1939, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2000).

Oh, and don’t forget about the roughly 50 All-State selections who, along with numerous others, have gone on to play college football. Pat Talburt and Ken Downing were drafted in to the NFL.

Just as notable, Aurora alums became high school football coaches across southwest Missouri. (One, Mitch Ware, is the offensive coordinator of NCAA Division I’s Army Black Knights.)

“The ’60s — and even the mid- to late-50s — there were so many championship teams. There is a lot of history here,” said Bob Journagan, a member of that 1965 team and a longtime hardware business owner in town. “Houn’ Dawg Pride is pretty evident, especially for anyone who plays any sport in Aurora. We take it seriously.”

The school adopted its mascot decades ago when the armory — it sits just east of the football field — adopted a dog. The football teams have certainly hunted down a ton of wins since.

In fact, 1965 team of coach Rod Kramer is gaining almost mythical status, given the playoff system of the Missouri State High School Activities Association was still three years away.

But the rankings of the Kansas City Star newspaper were like the Bible and, in its final ranking, Aurora landed smack-dab at No. 1 thanks to a pass-oriented offense unique for its day.

“We may have had 15 seniors and some underclassmen who started. A lot of people went both ways,” Journagan. “Anytime you see any of our teammates, we say, ‘Wow. We had quite a run.”

The 1969 team was coached by “Hoss” McCallister and finished 11-1, winning the Class 2 state title in a 13-6 victory against Malden.

For many on that team, whatever they accomplished individually has long paled in comparison to winning it all.

“This  many years later, no one can deny that we as a TEAM — from the coaches and most-honored players, to the team managers and the subs who helped prepare the starters for each game — earned that championship,” said Dave Berry, a lineman. “Nothing more is required of us to finish the task. We are and always will be the AA champions of 1969.”

Aurora’s 1999 team won the Class 3 state championship under coach Pat Woods and finished 14-0. It beat Platte County in the semifinals and California in the finals, and those victories were notable. Platte County won the next three state titles, and California had played for the state title in the prior two seasons, winning it all in 1997.

Kevin McVey’s 84-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage was the difference in the championship game.

To Woods, the old Big 8 Conference and Oak Grove toughened up the Houn’ Dawgs for the playoffs. The community throwing its collective support behind the team also has made a difference.

Positive impacts were made thanks to coaches such as Jim Fanklin and Poss Jackson in the 1960s, Harv Welch in the 1980s and Craig Weldy today.

“This is a rich tradition, and a Houn’ Dawg Football community,” Woods said. “And there’s no doubt that each team and each decade that came along put more pressure on the next (to succeed). If anybody didn’t think we had a chance, then they weren’t from Aurora.”