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As a Blue Dragon player in the
mid-1990s, Rion Rhoades was a tough, aggressive, intense linebacker.
He brings those same qualities as the head coach of the Hutchinson
Community College football team.
Named the program’s 17th head coach
on December 12, 2006, Rhoades was a part of HCC’s 1993 and 1994
teams under coaches Sam Pittman and Andy Hill. Those teams put down
the foundation for the 1995 Blue Dragons that won the team’s last
Jayhawk Conference championship.
A successful football coach at every
level, Rhoades predicates his program on four basic principals and
never wavers from them:
+ High personal character
+ Discipline and hard work
+ Academic achievement
+ Athletic excellence
Rhoades, who knows a little something
about winning football after playing at Kansas Class 5A power
Liberal, still has the distinction of being the Blue Dragons’ third
all-time leading tackler with 268 stops. A two-year starter for
Pittman and Hill, Rhoades was an All-Jayhawk Conference Honorable
Mention selection twice.
Now 10 years into his coaching
career, Rhoades comes to HCC after guiding Fort Scott Community
College to a remarkable one-year turnaround. Entering the 2006
season, Fort Scott was mired in a 22-game losing streak. Despite the
Greyhounds losing the first two games of the season, it was evident
that Fort Scott was ready to snap the streak shortly.
Fort Scott’s first win in 24 games came in Game 3 of the 2006 season, a
28-21 victory over Independence. From that point, the Greyhounds
were a threat in the Jayhawk Conference winning seven of their next
eight games to finish third in the league. Fort Scott was a missed
extra-point away from knocking off No. 1 Butler, or it would have
been eight straight victories for the ’Hounds.
Rhoades guided Fort Scott to a 7-5
record, a Region VI semifinal victory over Coffeyville on the road,
a berth in the Region VI championship game and a spot in the 2006
Heart of Texas Bowl. The Greyhounds also finished with a No. 11
national ranking.
Rhoades was named the 2006 Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year.
Several of Rhoades’ Greyhound players
earned postseason honors. Defensive back Scooter Rogers was a
second-team NJCAA All-American and 10 Greyhounds earned All-Jayhawk
Conference honors, including two first-team selections, four
second-team picks and four honorable mention players.
Rhoades is no stranger to the Jayhawk
Conference as a coach. Before Fort Scott, Rhoades was the defensive
coordinator for two seasons at Coffeyville Community College
(2004-05). With the Red Ravens, Rhoades helped 23 players sign with
NCAA Division I-A programs.
Rhoades has a history of taking
struggling programs and turning them into winners.
Besides Fort Scott, Rhoades also took
the Wichita County High School football program over in 1999. The
Leoti, Kan., high school had lost 21 straight games, but Rhoades
guided that team to a Class 3A district championship.
Rhoades takes over a proud Blue
Dragon football program that has struggled over the past two
seasons. HCC went 0-9 in 2006, the program’s first winless season
ever, and has lost 11 straight games.
Rhoades – The Blue Dragon linebacker
When Sam Pittman took over the HCC
football program in 1992, he was taking over a struggling team in
much the same way that Rhoades is. In the three previous years
before Pittman, the Blue Dragons were a paltry 5-22. Pittman’s 1992
Blue Dragons finished 5-4-1 for HCC’s first winning season since
1985.
Among the 2003 recruiting class was a
5-foot-11, 220-pound linebacker from Liberal named Rion Rhoades.
Rhoades jumped into the starting
lineup right away and tallied 138 tackles in his freshman season. He
helped the Blue Dragons finish 6-5 overall, place third in the
Jayhawk Conference and clinch a home Jayhawk Conference playoff game
for the first time in school history. The Dragons advanced all the
way to the Jayhawk semifinals, which clinched the team’s first bowl
berth since 1971 with a spot in the 1993 Valley of the Sun Bowl in
Glendale, Ariz.
Rhoades was an All-Jayhawk Conference
honorable mention selection in 1993.
The fortunes of the Blue Dragon
program continued to improve in 1994 and Rhoades was right in the
middle of the success. Selected as one of five team captains for the
1994 season, Rhoades proved to be a perfect leader for new head
coach Andy Hill, leading the defense with 130 total tackles, 64
unassisted. He was third in tackles for loss with 12 and again
earned honorable mention all-league honors.
The 1994 Blue Dragons finished 15th
in the final NJCAA poll and finished with an 8-4 record, the
program’s third-straight winning season. The eight wins were the
most since 1972 and HCC again qualified for a bowl game, the 1994
Valley of the Sun Bowl against Mesa, Ariz.
Rhoades’ 1994 team did something that
no other HCC football team had ever done in the current league
playoff format. The 1994 Blue Dragons advanced to the Jayhawk
Conference championship game for the first time since third format
was introduced in 1981.
Rhoades’ coaching resume
Before taking the Fort Scott job,
Rhoades was Coffeyville’s defensive coordinator in 2004 and 2005
under another former Blue Dragon assistant, Jeff Leiker.
The Red Ravens compiled a record of
19-4 in Rhoades’ two seasons. In 2004, Coffeyville ranked No. 1 in
the Jayhawk Conference in rush defense, No. 2 in total defense and
scoring defense and No. 4 in pass defense. In 2005, Rhoades’
defensive unit ranked second in the league in scoring defense and
third in total, rushing and pass defense.
Rhoades helped 23 defensive players
reach the Division I level at Coffeyville.
Prior to Coffeyville, Rhoades was the
assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Northwestern
Oklahoma State University in Alva, Okla., in 2002 and 2003.
Northwestern had a 22-3 record over the two seasons Rhoades guided
the defense. The Rangers played for an NAIA national championship in
2003.
Rhoades started his career at
Northwestern Oklahoma State in 2000 as the offensive line coach and
held that position through 2001. During his tenure with the
Northwestern offensive line, the Rangers led the nation in rushing
and total offense, and were national runner-up in 2000.
In all Rhoades helped 26 Northwestern
Oklahoma State student-athletes receive All-Central States Football
League honors. In addition, nine Rangers were named to All-American
lists.
Rhoades got his coaching start at
Northwestern Oklahoma State in 1997, serving as linebackers coach.
In 1998, Rhoades was the linebackers coach at Fort Hays State
University. Two of his linebackers earned All-Rocky Mountain
Athletic Conference honors.
Then in 1999, Rhoades took the
Wichita County High School head coaching position and spent one
season there as the head football and track coach.
Rhoades’ playing career
Rhoades went to Western Illinois
University after his days as a Blue Dragon. He earned academic
All-Gateway Conference honors.
As a senior, Rhoades transferred to
Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he was selected by Don
Hansen’s Football Gazette as an NAIA All-America linebacker.
Rhoades started at linebacker in 43
of 44 games of his collegiate career.
Prior to his college career, Rhoades
was an all-state Class 5A linebacker at Liberal for legendary high
school coach Gary Cornelsen.
Rhoades helped Liberal to the 2002
Class 5A state championship. The Redskins finished as 5A runner-up
in his junior season of 1991.
Rhoades was selected to play in the
1993 Kansas Shrine Bowl after his senior season.
Education
After graduating from HCC, Rhoades
earned his Bachelor’s degree in education at Northwestern Oklahoma
State University in 1998. He earned his masters degree in Sports
Administration at Fort Hays State University in 1999.
Personal
Rhoades is married to the former
Darcy Syring of Alta Vista, Kan. The couple has three children: a
daughter, Sydney (11); and sons, Trevor (6) and Jackson (5).
Rhoades has been very active in the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization. He also started
huddle groups at both Northwestern Oklahoma State and Coffeyville.
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