Inductees

Dynasties come in all shapes and sizes. One of the greatest football dynasties in Missouri sports history comes from the Benton County town of Warsaw.

From 1988 to 1995, the Warsaw Wildcats were arguably the top Class 2 program in the state, winning state championships in 1990 and 1993, and reaching the state Final Four five other times in those eight seasons.

For those reasons, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Warsaw High School Football Era of 1988-95 as members of the Class of 2024.

Presiding over that impressive success was head coach Randy Morrow (MSHOF 2011).

“Randy Morrow was probably the best motivator and example to young men that I ever met in person,” said longtime public address announcer John Carleton.

“I have people ask me all the time why we were so good,” said former Wildcat Joe Hilty. “Randy was the reason.”

But it was also the players. As the success grew, so did the interest and the roster size.

“We had a ton of high-quality boys come through at that time and Randy was always at his best at getting 110 percent out of them,” Carleton said.

In 1986, the first under Morrow, Warsaw went 1-9. In 1987, the Wildcats improved slightly to 3-7. The turnaround came in 1988, with the Wildcats reaching the state playoffs and advancing to the semifinals, before bowing out with a 14-0 loss to John Burroughs. Warsaw finished that season with an 11-2 record, recoding five shutouts along the way.

In 1989, the Wildcats produced a 12-1 record, but once again saw their season end in the semifinals at the hands of eventual state champion – and now chief Warsaw rival – John Burroughs.

After coming close twice, the Wildcats finally had their championship moment in 1990, getting a shot at the king along the way. And this time, they didn’t miss.

Warsaw cruised into the state semifinals, scoring 91 points in early round wins against Seneca and Willow Springs. In the semis, the Wildcats hosted John Burroughs in an epic struggle that needed overtime to decide who moved on.

“John Burroughs was an outstanding team, with a lot of quality, recruited players,” Carleton said. “We played them down to a tie and we held them in overtime. We got the ball down to the three-yard line. Eric Ramsey three a touchdown pass to win, and I knew then that we had essentially just played the state championship game.”

But there was one more for the Wildcats, and that came the following week in Springfield. Warsaw trampled South Shelby, 42-7, earning the school’s first state championship in any sport.

Morrow was the master motivator. Carleton saw it up close every season.

“I always said Randy could pump them up before a game and tell them to go out and eat the grass at the 50-yard line and they wouldn’t ask why or when to quit,” Carleton said. “He just had them in his hand and they trusted him and knew if they did what he said and executed the gameplan that they would win.”

And the winning continued. After the 1990 state championship, Warsaw went back to the playoffs in 1991 and 1992, again reaching the semis in ’92. Those years set the stage for 1993.

How dominant were the Wildcats in ’93? Warsaw limited its opponents to 7.6 points per game, while scoring nearly 32 points per game.

The ’93 culminated with a 13-12 win against Lutheran North in the title game, cementing Warsaw’s undefeated season and second state championship in four years.

The 1994 and 1995 teams both went on to reach the state playoffs, with the ’94 team reaching the finals before losing an 18-13 heartbreaker against Monroe City.

The legacy had been established.

Part of that legacy was tremendous support from the Warsaw community.

“It meant everything,” former Wildcat Ben Kellner said. “I don’t know what football is like in Texas, but I think we had that at Warsaw. The town closed on Friday nights and the streets rolled up and everybody went to the football games. The support from the community was incredible.”

During those eight seasons, the Wildcats produced 23 All-State honorees. First-team All-State selections included Mike Schockmann, Jonathan Gott, Eric Ramsey, Michael Davenport, Michael Slavens, Chad Pickens, and Nathan Steenburgen.

“Our success started with Coach Morrow being the motivator and helping us understand what it took to be successful, and that went way beyond the football field,” Hilty said. “We were expected to do the right thing, on and off the field and we always appreciated that because it made us better in the long run.”

It’s hard to get much better than Warsaw football from 1988 to 1995.