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It won't be long until Ray Hentges can watch a Helias football game at his own stadium.

July 27,2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --- There are road trips, then there are road trips.

This one just happened to last 60 years.

On Aug. 18, the Helias Crusaders will debut their new 17-acre, $13 million athletic facility --- a facility that's a lot more than just football --- against Hannibal at Ray Hentges Stadium, a night that's sure to create some spin-tingling emotions.

Public School Stadium/Adkins Stadium served well as the home for the program since the 1950s. The Crusaders enjoyed a lot of great wins and made a lot of great memories on those hallowed grounds.

But now, it's time to make memories on their own turf.

Tuesday, it was indeed an honor and privilege to tour the grounds with the stadium's namesake --- doubly-so since it was the first time Ray been inside the construction fences.

There's only one first, after all.

"Wow, this is nice," Hentges said with a smile. "It's special. That night will be our first real home game, and it's been a long time coming. I think all the people who contributed money to this will look at it and say: 'I'm glad I did it, this is special.'"

How lucky we've been to have two legends in our midst. Pete has his own stadium, now Ray has his.

"I'm very humbled by it," Hentges said. "I just wish people would stop telling me congratulations. We were fortunate. We had a lot of kids who were willing to work awfully hard, work on their skills, pay attention .. this is just a culmination of a lot of teamwork, from the coaches to the players.

"Like I've said before, every player I ever coached and all my assistants, they're all part of this, too. We wouldn't have been able to enjoy the winning tradition we had here without those players and those assistants. They also share in this honor, as far as I'm concerned.

"But it does feel good. I'm deeply blessed and honored that the committee thought enough about it to do this."

Besides his two state championships, Hentges --- who finished with 251 wins in 33 years at Helias --- has one other memory that stands out above the rest.

"My first game, my first win, against Hickman in 1966," he said. "We were the only team to beat them that year."

One of the team's Hickman defeated in 1966 was the Jays, a loss that snapped Jefferson City's then national-record 71-game winning streak.

It's a win that's gotten better with age. Does he ever remind Pete of it? As in ... Hah!

"No, no, no, no," Hentges said with a laugh. "I'm just humbled that we were the team to beat the team."

Humble to the end. Just another reason why Everybody Loves Raymond.

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YOU'D BE HARD-PRESSED TO BE HAVING a better summer than Ray Hentges. This summer of rays has turned into to The Wonderful Summer of Ray's.

Good things really do happen to good people, because they don't come any better.

His own stadium tops the list. Or does it?

Hentges said he's equally proud of the accomplishments of his grandson, Hale, who's gearing up for his junior season at Alabama. Hale --- one of 17 grandchildren of Ray and Marilyn's --- should be much more prominent in the Crimson Tide's offense this year with the graduation of his mentor, All-America tight O.J. Howard.

"If their practice sessions flow into real game situations," Ray said, "they're going to throw the ball to him a lot more."

Three weeks to watching a game his own stadium, five weeks from watching his grandson start for the best football program in the country, a kickoff showdown with Florida State in Atlanta --- a game Ray will attend.

But this summer odyssey started in June when Hentges, 78, had his own competitive moment in the sun, competing in the National Senior Games Golf Tournament in Alabama.

He's competed in a lot of golf tournaments in his life, but this was his first on the national stage. He finished 11th out of nearly 47 golfers.

"It was a great experience, but we (Ray was joined by friends Ken Imhoff and Gary Oliver) were disappointed with the way we played ... we were disappointed with the condition of the greens," Hentges said.

The greens at Oxmoor Valley (in Birmingham) are Bermuda grass, which can make putting somewhat of a guessing game. When you add in that the greens were top-dressed just 10 days prior to the tournament, putting became Plunko. 

"Any golfer knows," Hentges said, "that that's not an ideal situation. But outside of that, we met a lot of great guys from different states."

There's been one constant behind these wonderful successes Ray's enjoyed this summer --- and the many decades previous --- and that's his wife of 55 years, Marilyn.

"They say that if you're successful as a man," Ray said, "you're going to have a woman behind you and with you who made you that way, Without her, I don't know where I'd be --- I owe most of my success to the support she gave me for the 33 years I was head coach.

"She was always there, taking care of the home when I wasn't there, picking me up after we lost, and celebrating after we won. I just can't imagine life without a good woman ... and I've got a good one."

Amen.

Loeffler's Link

Summer of Ray's

What a wonderful season it's been for Hentges