Between 1984 and 2002 Teams
By Bruce Viergutz
News Sports Writer
O'Neill - 1984. A tumultuous
year if you were a believer of George Orwell's book, but a season of
celebration if you were an O'Neill St. Mary's football fan.
That was the year that put St. Mary's football on
the map. The new-kid-on-the-block Cardinals hosted the C2 state
championship in November 1984, defeating tradition-rich Grant 39-15
in the title game.
Now, 18 years later, St. Mary's is back in the
championship game. The Cardinals face Lindsay Holy Family in D2 state
championship Thursday at 11 a.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Things have obviously changed over the years - the
Cardinals were an 11-man football team in '84 and now play 8 man
football, but other things have some welcome familiarity to it.
Brothers Darold and Darin Schneider were part of
the St. Mary's '84 championship team and now serve as offensive and
defensive coordinators, respectively, for the Cardinals' football
team.
Darold was a senior all-state offensive guard for
the '84 team - all 145 pounds of him.
"I think the program had me listed as 160
(pounds)," Darold said with a sheepish grin. "But I was a lot closer
to 145, maybe 150. I was so small, defensive linemen couldn't see me
coming. The element of surprise was pretty big."
And neither could Grant foresee a victory by the
upstarts from St. Mary's. The Cardinals, after all, had never before
played in a state football championship game, at least in modern
days.
St. Mary's was coached by a young Rich Rethwisch,
a guy with the enthusiasm of a Barry Switzer and insight of a Tom
Osborne.
That's fast company, but so was Rethwisch's
team.
"All year during practice, it seemed like he'd
come up with something different," Darold said. "Later on he told us
the reason he did that was to keep us enthused about the game."
Grant was coached by the gruff, straight-shooting
Al Gaston. The Plainsmen had played in four previous state
championship games and won them all. In fact, Grant went on to win
the title in 1985 and won three more in the 80's after that.
After Grant took the lead on a quick score, a
Plainsmen fan dressed in red and white yelled out, "Let's show these
Northeast Nebraska boys how to play some football."
In the end, it was St. Mary's that put on the
show.
"That was the first time anybody had scored on us
before we put some points on the board," Darold said. "Our first play
from scrimmage was a trap and one of out running backs, Steve
Schneider, ran 60 yards for a touchdown."
Steve Schneider is a cousin to Darold and
Darin.
"I think we had five or six cousins on the team
that year," Darold said. "The biggest thing I remember about that
club was our team speed. From linemen, to the running backs, to the
quarter back, everybody was quick. The first 10 or 15 years, we were
fairly fast."
Fans showed up in droves that night to watch
Cinderella try on the shoe and found it fit perfectly.
"We knew we were the underdogs, so that was a big
advantage for us to be playing at home," Darold said. "We were
fortunate to have played all four of our playoff games at home."
O'Neill, which normally likes to dress up in
green, was decked out that day in the Cardinals' school colors of
maroon and white.
"It was great," said Darold, who works as a
lineman for Niobrara Valley Electric in O'Neill. "I remember the
mayor coming up and giving us the key to the city and we had an
'O'Neill St. Mary's Day' to us. We probably had 10 or 12 pep rallies
those final two weeks of the playoffs."
Now having the chance to relive it all as a coach
for his alma mater is even more exciting, Darold said.
"Darin and I helped coach the seniors on this team
when they were in junior high and watched them grow and get better
has been rewarding, "Darold said. "This group of kids, as well as the
'84 team, are a real close-knit group of kids. Everybody is working
toward the same goal. Guys don't care about stats, all they want is
the 'W.' That's the main similarity I see in the two teams."
Darin Schneider was also a lineman for the
cardinals and played as a freshmen. But Schneider hurt his back
during the year and his father wouldn't sign his physical exam until
basketball season."
"The other players of the team were gracious
enough to bring me along and coach Rethwisch let me participate in
anyway I could on the sidelines," Darin said. " I spotted, kept stats
or whatever I could. I couldn't play because I wasn't allowed
to."
But that didn't stop Darin from being proud of his
brother.
"We always said the dynamite comes in small
packages and Darold was certainly all of that," Darin said. "We still
rely on offensive traps that Darold used to pull on and the kids now
do a really good job of it. But, they were taught by a pretty good
one."
Darin also reflects fondly of the autumn of
'84.
"The whole community was behind us," said Darin,
who works as a service representative for Mid-Continent
Communications. "O'Neill is a great place to live and there is a good
group of kids at both schools in town. Everybody is real support and
we've had nothing but good things happen to us. It's a very positive
aspect for the kids to see these people pull together for an event
like this."
There are still two signs, although weathered,
just on the outskirts entering O'Neill that reminds passers-by of the
glory of 1984.
Some think a new sign maybe in order.
"Yeah, the kids have been making fun of me about
that, "Darold said. "I think they want their own sign."
And the Cardinals are only one win away from
erecting it.