1967-68 Varsity Football Team

The 1967-68 varsity football team was described by head coach Bill Novak as “one of the greatest football teams in the history of Ottawa High.” They were a perfect 9 – 0, winning the NCIC Northeast Conference title. The record pushed Ottawa’s winning streak to 28 straight games. They scored a total of 319 points (35.4 average) to their opponents’ 58 points (6.4 average). Their closest game was won by 12 points, with only 2 opponents all season scoring more than 1 touchdown, four opponents did not score at all, and the most any opponent scored was 25 points – in a 60 – 25 OTHS victory. Senior lineman Al Dooley was named the team’s most valuable player. Seniors Ken Herington and Randy Olson were co-captains. Center Scott Willis and end Randy Olson were named to the All-State team. The All-NCIC team included Scott Willis, Randy Olson, Al Dooley, Jim Zidow, Ken Herington, and Brian Neilsen. Leading scorer and rusher was Brian Neilsen rushing for 820 yards and scoring 113 points on 13 touchdowns and 35 point after touchdown conversions. Juniors Mike Barber and George Sutherland shared quarterbacking duties and combined passed for 917 yards and 11 touchdowns. Randy Olson was the leading receiver with 21 catches for 353 yards and 6 touchdowns. L-R 1st row seated: Ted Pumo, Kent Wagner, Dave Cheli, Gary Grunstad, Kim Besse, Mike Bretag, and Dan DeBernardi; 2nd row: Ron Sanders, Randy Capitani, George Yednock, Gary Mooney, Joel Cechowicz, Kent Freise, Fletcher Wells, and student manager Larry Goodin; 3rd row: Mike Lacke, Mike Barber, Dale Claus, Tim Jobst, Head Coach Bill Novak, Tom Jobst, Al Dooley, Larry Pike, and Chuck Willet; 4th row: Assistant Coach Dean Riley, Mike Hoskinson, Dave Varrato, Colen Willis, John Wendt, Jim Zidow, George Sutherland, Brian Neilsen, and Assistant Coach Ralph Nelson; 5th row: Assistant Coach Ron Slack, Bob Foutch, Gary Grenter, Randy Olson, Larry Carroll, Ken Herington, Scott Willis, Don Jakubek, Bob Maierhofer, and student manager Bob Risberg. Missing from photo: Ernie Mathews, Gary Schuett, and equipment manager Jake Clausen.