The 1946 Nebraska Class A football champs

(Note: McCook was saddened recently with the news of the passing of Dick Drake, the hard-charging fullback on Russ Sautter's 1946 Class A Nebraska High School Football team, still the only McCook football team to ever win a Class A Championship. Today, we're going to take a look back at that team and the 1946 season. From the Gazette Archives.)

In 1946, those who followed Nebraska High School sports were shocked at what was taking place across Nebraska each Friday night. Upstart McCook, in outstate Nebraska was systematically knocking off the perennial high school football powers and playing itself into consideration for the mythical honor of being voted overall best of all the high school football teams. This was indeed a surprise, since Mc Cook was coming off a so-so- 7 wins 2 loss season in 1945 and was thought to be in a rebuilding year in 1946.

By today's standards the 1946 team, built around returning All Stater, Leo McKillip, (170#) would have to be considered extremely small, averaging but 168#. But the members of the team bonded together under Coach Sautter's tutelage, and had the knack of wearing down their opponent, and by the end of a game usually seemed to be he bigger and stronger team. Over and over during a game, Dick Drake softened up the opposing team, bullying them with three and four yard bursts up the middle, after which Leo McKillip would feint to the middle, then dart to the outside for a long game or a score.

Against Curtis, the first opponent, McCook was its own worst enemy, accumulating some 75 yards in penalties, allowing Curtis to keep the game close. Still, by the fourth quarter the McCook offense had gotten on track, with crisp passing good blocking and spectacular runs and came out with a 20-0 victory. Coach Sautter was far from pleased and had words of blame and "room for improvement" for the team and for each of his stars.

The next three games on the Bison schedule were contests with not only the opponent on the field, but also bouts with the rain, adding another task---hanging onto a wet slippery ball. The win at Lexington was another 20-0 win. Coach Sautter praised the defensive work of his team, but was not pleased with the team's "tactics."

If Coach Sautter thought the team should be doing better, Greg McBride, Dean of the state's sports columnists wrote in the Omaha World Herald that the Bison needed to be rewarded with a promotion from 9th to 8th place in the paper's football poll. He wrote that the winner of the McCook-Scottsbluff game would deserve real consideration for the top spot. A McCook win seemed highly unlikely. Scottsbluff, now rated #4 in the poll, had -- no trouble in routing the Bison 45-6 in 1945. Plus, Scottsbluff had its own offensive star, said to rival McCook's McKillip in ability. Still, at game's end it was McKillip and McCook that prevailed. Leo lofted a very pretty pass to end, Don Paydon for the only score in the game. McCook had upset Scottsbluff, the perennial outstate powerhouse, 6-0. The win vaulted the Bison to #4 in the World Herald poll, and dropped Scottsbluff to #5.

Against North Platte the Bison found themselves in an unfamiliar position---that of favorites to win the game. Over the years McCook had suffered at the hand of the Bulldogs, finding themselves on the wrong end of 59-0, and 61-0 routs. Just days before the game, the North Platte reserves had bested the Bison 52-0, taunting the Bison that the score was a preview of the varsity game. This, along with McKillip's injured hand, made North Platte the favorite.

In this game Dick Drake turned out to be the hero, offensively and defensively, eating up time, and picking up first downs with a steady pounding of the North Platte middle with 3, 4, or 5 yard runs. The final score, McCook 12-North Platte 6. Coach Sautter called his team's performance "lackluster". North Platte backers called it the Bulldog's best effort of the season.

Against Alliance, the Bison again brought out the home team's best effort. It was a scrap, but McCook came out on top with its third 20-0 victory of the season. The Bison were elevated to #2 in the World Herald poll, behind only Lincoln Central.

The Grand Island game had been projected to be a real challenge for the Bison, mostly due to the credentials of the Grand Island Super-star, Bobby Reynolds. However, Reynolds was still recovering from a leg injury. Without him, GI was not much of a challenge.

McCook 40-Grand Island 6. Despite the lopsided victory McCook remained #2 in the state poll.

Against Kearney, one of the two teams to beat the Bison in 1945, McCook played what Gazette reporter Bob Morris called their poorest game of the season. There were bright spots, one of which was the running of Dick Drake, whom Morris likened to that of a diesel freight train. In the end McCook prevailed 20-13, their closest game of the season. The game was marked by the scoring of Allen Strunk, a tackle, known mainly for opening up holes for the backs to run through. On this day, however, Strunk took a lateral from McKillip and "swarmed for the remaining eight yards for the final Bison touchdown."

After the Kearney game McCook players might have been forgiven for looking past Holdrege, the next team on the schedule. Coach Sautter did his best to see that his players kept their focus, and at the end of the day the Bison had defeated their Southwest Conference foe in what turned out to be the Championship game, by the score of (what else?) 20-0.

On that same day, November 15th , Fremont edged Hastings 3-0 to win the East Big Ten title. In the other Big Ten game Grand Island knocked off top-ranked Lincoln Central, setting the stage for the super game with Fremont, with the Class A Football Championship on the line.

The teams turned out to be very evenly matched and the game was a slugfest, played in Fremont before the largest crowd ever (4,000) for a Fremont football game. Each team had its chances to take control of the game. Once Fremont got as close as McCook's three yard line, but failed to score. McCook had a first down at the Fremont six yard line, but came away with no score. It appeared that neither team would score going into the closing minutes of the game. McCook had the ball on the 4th down, two yards to go, at the Fremont 26. Time for a single pass play. Leo McKillip took the ball at the 26. No one open. Players scattered all across the field. He retreated to the 50 yard line. Suddenly McKillip's favorite target, Don Paydon broke free at the end zone. McKillip's pass was true, Paydon scoring the game's only touchdown. Steady Dick Drake kicked the extra point for final score, and the mythical State Championship was McCook's. (this was before playoffs decided the football champ on the field.)

McCook, as State Champs, had earned the reward for an outstanding achievement. They stayed at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln the night before the game, then traveled to Omaha after the game as part of their championship mini-vacation. In Omaha they were turned loose on the town on Saturday, then, in the evening, treated to large steaks at a leading Omaha Steak House, then on to a professional hockey game, before returning to a hero's welcome back in McCook on Sunday.

Gazette Sportswriter Morris summed up the season in his column. "McCook is justly proud of the 1946 Bisons, and plans are underway to honor them on the 'mashed potato' circuit in a fashion worthy of the state champions they are. Those who have peered closely into the make-up of these boys, however, prefer to call them 'Real Champions.' That isn't because they won all their games, but because of their conduct, not only on the field, but off the field.

"They were gentlemen and sportsmen at all times and the people of McCook salute them for the way they have represented their community. The Bison of 1946 made themselves better men and made football a greater game. That is why they are Real Champions.'

Source: Paul Mowry in the Centennial Gazette 1982