Inductees

The Cabool High School Bulldogs didn’t approach the 1968 season knowing greatness awaited.

They knew they would compete in a solid South Central Association. They knew they had the experience and the drive to do well. But they also knew there would be obstacles to overcome.

The Bulldogs did that and more under coach Art Seals, becoming one of the inaugural state champions in the state of Missouri – and the first from Southwest Missouri – when they beat Seneca 6-0 in the 1968 Class 2 state championship game at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Springfield.

The perseverance and greatness the team showed is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Cabool’s 1968 State Championship Team into the Class of 2025.

“I hauled hay all summer. A lot of us did. I don’t know if we even had a weight class,” said Jim Beller, captain and linebacker. “We had two-a-days, 7 to 9. (Seals) believed in hard work. We ran wind sprints every day.”

The team was led by quarterback Randy Rees, who along with running backs Bob White, Gene Roberts, Basil Quesenberry, Terry McCall and David Rust, played behind an offensive line of center Mike Hood, guards Jim Beller and Chris Dale, tackles Dennis Faler and Ron Altis, and ends Bill Burns and Jim Kissock.

“We weren’t a big team,” White said. “Our offensive line averaged just around 160 pounds. That was something we had to overcome with effort and hard work.”

Quesenberry and Beller joined Rust and Leon Boyce as linebackers leading the defense. Jim Meiser, Altis, Larry Thompson and White were defensive tackles, while McCall and Rees played defensive back. Raymond Steely and Kissock locked down defensive end with Jim Stark and Gene Roberts also in the mix.

The punter was Dennis Carroll. Other team members included Johnny Williams, Danny Christenson, Leon Curry, Gary Jesse, Mike Honeycutt, Ronnie Benett, David Quesenberry, Gary Cooper, Lonnie Greuter, Tommy Whittaker, Bill Perry, Garry McCall, Don Beller, Earl Baker, Don Cooper, Everett Beller, John Frisbee, Jerry Hood, Floyd Graham, Terry Kile, Dennis Carroll, Roger Carmichael, Brad Steely, Jim Dixon, Jeff Mitchem and Kirby Kile.

Assistant coaches were Bill Hoover, Rich Hood and Ed Northrup, with Bub Unger and Paul Wade as managers.

“We knew going into the season that we should have a competitive team, but we didn’t really know how we would stack up against other teams in the SCA,” White said. “But one of the main things that made the team click was having so many seniors on the roster who had played together since junior high.”

That experience came into play early. After a season-opening win against Greenwood, the Bulldogs dropped their second game to Salem, 6-0.

They never lost again.

The Bulldogs beat West Plains 13-7, Mountain View 46-0, Ava 21-0, Willow Springs 14-12, Houston 28-14, Thayer 39-0, and Mountain Grove 12-6 to finish the regular season and earn a spot in the newly formed state semifinals.

There, the Bulldogs outlasted South Shelby 14-13 on an odd tiebreaker to earn a spot in the first ever Class 2 state championship. Against Seneca, Rees’ touchdown run was all the offense needed, as the Bulldog defense pitched a shutout and led Cabool to the title.

“All teams love to win, but our team hated to lose,” White said. “That, in my opinion, can be the difference between winning and losing.”

White said that the team’s competitiveness and toughness was, in part, forged by the competition they faced in the SCA.

“Several teams in our conference were in a higher class, 3A or 4A, plus SCA was loaded with good teams in 1968,” White said. “That only made us better.”

White also recalls the Bulldogs being a team in the truest sense. The Bulldogs had to rely on every starter and their backups. They didn’t have a roster of standouts, but they had a team that was better than any other in 1968’s Class 2.

“Some of my proudest moments were, of course, winning the state championship and being co-champs of the SCA,” White said. “But mainly what I am proudest of is how the team without any superstars played together to overcome the obstacles we encountered.”

“From the school’s perspective, the state championship is still such a matter of pride for our school,” said Rance Beller, Cabool’s athletics director. “We belong to the SCA conference, which is known for its outstanding football programs, and Cabool is still the only SCA team to win a state championship in football.”