By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Homer Rice and Kenney Shields, two of the coaching legends in Northern Kentucky high school sports, are among the first group selected for induction into the Highlands High School Hall of Fame.
Rice established the winning tradition of the Highlands football program while he was head coach of the Bluebirds from 1954 to 1961. His teams dominated the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference before statewide playoffs were organized and then claimed back-to-back Class AA state titles in 1960 and 1961 with a perfect 12-0 record each season. Rice compiled a 71-11-6 record in eight years at Highlands before leaving to become a college coach. He later became an assistant coach and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Homer Rice
Kenney Shields
Shields turned the Highlands boys’ basketball program into a perennial powerhouse after he became head coach in 1975. The Bluebirds made it to the 9th Region playoffs in 13 consecutive seasons under Shields. Seven of his teams made it to the regional final and five won the championship trophy. When he left Highlands in 1988 to become men’s head basketball coach at Northern Kentucky University, Shields had a career record of 460-257 as a high school coach that included a 261-144 record at Highlands. He is the winningest boys’ basketball coach in the history of the 9th Region.
Loyce Meadows, one of the founding members of the Northern Kentucky Girls Coaches Association during her 32 years at Highlands, will also be inducted into the hall of fame during a banquet on Oct. 11 at Highland Country Club. The other inductees in the inaugural class are these seven former Highlands athletes:
John Burt — Running back on the first two Highlands football teams to win state championships in 1960 and 1961. Burt’s No. 40 jersey was the first one retired in the history of the Bluebirds’ football program.
Gary Herfel — Offensive and defensive lineman in football who was named all-state in 1959. Herfel also earned varsity letters in golf and track. He held school records in the shot put and discus for more than 25 years.
Chuck Kyle — Three-sport athlete considered one of the best football players ever at Highlands. Kyle also achieved All-America times in swimming, won a state title in diving and earned all-state honors in track during his senior year in 1964-65.
Dennis McAtee — Named the outstanding athlete in the 1958 senior class after earning varsity letters in football, basketball, swimming and golf. McAtee was senior captain on three of those teams.
Tim Racke — Played quarterback, running back and defensive back during his football career and led the 1968 Highlands team to an undefeated state championship. Racke was team captain in football, swimming and track his senior year. He was on a medley relay team that set a state record in swimming.
Panny Sarakatsannis — Earned 13 varsity letters playing football, basketball, baseball and track for the Bluebirds. He was the school’s career scoring leader in basketball when he graduated in 1957.
Howard “Duke” Schneider — Earned 12 varsity letters in baseball, basketball, football and track before he graduated in 1949. Schneider was named the top running back in the entire Greater Cincinnati area his senior season.
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Austin Myers, a four-time undefeated state wrestling champion for Campbell County High School, received the LaRosa’s Male MVP of the Year Award during a ceremony on Sunday that was televised live on WCET-TV.
Myers posted a perfect 182-0 record and won four state titles in the 220-pound weight class during his high school career. He was also a three-time champion in that weight class at the National High School Wrestling Championships. Myers was recruited by several major college wrestling teams before accepting a scholarship offer from the University of West Virginia.
The other five nominees for this year’s Buddy LaRosa Male MVP Award were athletes who competed for high school teams in Ohio. Myers is the first Northern Kentuckian to win the annual award in more than 10 years
There were also seven people inducted into the Buddy LaRosa High School Hall of Fame during Sunday’s ceremony. The inductees included Barry Binkley, a highly successful cross country and track coach at Dayton High School, and Michelle Cottrell Marston, a former 9th Region Player of the Year in girls’ basketball at Boone County High School.
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High school golfers Tim Alexander of Ryle and Mitchell Schilling of Beechwood posted the top scores in the boys’ 14-15 age group at the Northern Kentucky Junior Amateur last week.
Alexander won the first-place trophy in that division with a 36-hole total of 149. He shot 77 in the first round at Summit Hills Country Club and 72 in the final round at the Northern Kentucky Golf Course in Pendleton County. Schilling placed second with a 155 total (80-75).
Jacob Vrolijk of Grant County won the boys’ 16-18 age group with a 150 total. The girls’ champs were Amy Pugliano of Notre Dame in the Annika Division with a 172 total and Olivia Hinton of Ryle in the Wie Division with a 198 total.
