Time to see a coaching legend again
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PREP
I need to see an athletic legend at least once more.
Thankfully, I’ll have a chance to do so this weekend in Excelsior Springs.
That legend is Vic Bonuchi. Bonuchi, as many readers know, led the Tigers to athletic glory in 11-man football, boys wrestling and baseball. During the 1960s, he coached Excelsior Springs through a string of undefeated seasons, as I learned while covering the 2021 Excelsior Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony. Those seasons were before the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) playoff system was in place.
During the MSHSAA playoff era, Bonuchi and his Tigers won two Class 4A state football titles. That was during the 1990s, when my niece, Amber Roney, attended Excelsior Springs and was a Tigerette.
As I was reminded from doing some online research, he turned the Tigers into state wrestling champions, too. MSHSAA lists him as the head coach of the 1975 Class A state c...