Sept. 14, 2017

CENTRALIA, Mo. --- How do you replace a legend?

You don't.

How do you ease the pain during the transition?

Just win, baby.
"We're doing really well," Centralia head coach Jim Newsted said. "We're really excited about what we're seeing right now, it's looking good."

That's what you'd call an understatement. The beat goes on. Or to put it another way, the beat-ings go on.

The Centralia Panthers are off to a 4-0 start, they've outscored their opponents 189-33, they're ranked No. 2 in the KRCG Mid-Missouri Power Poll for Small Schools, and they're No. 6 in the state in Class 2.

This is nothing new, really. But this year, the Panthers are doing it without Erle Bennett calling the shots --- for the first time since 1994.

Bennett retired last year after 22 seasons at the Centralia, where he won 206 games --- including an eye-popping 70 straight in the regular season from 2005-12. The Panthers won the state championship in 2003, finished second in 2002 and in 2013, Bennett was inducted into the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

No small shoes to fill.

"I told the kids when I started (as head coach) that it's not really a new era, because it's the same school, it's the same program, there's just a different leader," Newsted said. "The tradition has not changed, it's just kind carried over ... I'm taking over the tradition he installed.

"It's like a senior class coming through, then you get a new senior class taking over and you keep doing the same thing."

If Newsted sounds comfortable about the transition, there's a reason --- he's hardly the new kid on the block. He was Bennett's assistant for 18 years, 12 as defensive coordinator and, in an interesting twist, the last six as offensive coordinator.

"Erle said that if you have any ambition of being the head football coach when I'm done here,"  Newsted said, "you need experience on both sides of the ball."

He learned his lessons well.

"Erle is such a great X's and O's guy, there's probably no one better," Newsted said.  "He's my mentor, he's my best friend --- I still talk to him probably once or twice a week. He's a great man, a great guy, and I probably wouldn't be where I'm at right now if it wasn't for all the leadership and guidance he's given me over the years."

Bennett's classroom taught more than just football.

"I probably learned more from him about making young boys into men than any coach I've been around," Newsted said. "It's not just coming to practice every day and talking about the X's and O's, but talking to them about character and teaching these guys how to be men and how to handle adversity.

"Because when you go through a football season, there's a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs. You have to be able to handle them."

In another interesting twist, Newsted has put Bennett to work. "He scouts for me," he said.

Newsted married his wife, JoDean, in 1998 and they moved to her hometown, Centralia. He started coaching football a week after the wedding.

"I told my wife that I'll never forget our anniversary," Newsted said with a smile, "because that's the day I met Erle Bennett."

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WHILE CENTRALIA IS OFF TO A FLYING 4-0 START, they haven't exactly been beating up on teams from the SEC. Those four teams are a combined 2-14, and one of those wins came when two played each other.

By comparison, Centralia beat the same four by a combined 164-19 last year on its way to a 5-0 start --- but then lost three of four to end the regular season.

Again, the Panthers will see that same quartet this season.

After playing at South Shelby (2-2) on Friday night, the Panthers will enter the meat of their schedule with games against Monroe City, Macon, Palmyra and next week, the surging Mexico Bulldogs.

"We've talked about it, the kids have talked about it," Newsted said. "We know it's going to get a lot tougher from here on out and the big tests are coming the next four or five weeks."

They're heading into that stretch with a full head of steam, and it starts at quarterback. Clayton Simkins was forced into duty last year, and now he's back bigger, stronger and faster for his senior year. 

"He probably wasn't mature enough last year to play at the varsity level," Newsted said, "but he's gained a lot of weight, he's gotten taller, stronger and smarter. He's running the offense really well and his leadership is exceptional."

At some point, Simkins and Centralia will need some semblance of a passing game. But not yet.

"I hate to throw the ball when we're running it so well," Newsted said. "Against Brookfield, we only had to throw the ball four times, but they were all nice passes and good completions."

The offensive line is anchored by returning senior Brett Huffington --- "He's the quarterback of the O-line." --- while an experienced backfield showcases the four-headed monster of seniors Trey Owens, Kaiden Davenport, Tyler Dorman and junior Gus Stidham.

"I can't be more pleased with our offensive line," Newsted said, "and I've got four guys in the backfield I can give the ball to at anytime, and they can make big plays for us. That makes it hard for defenses to stop what we're doing, because we've got so many options."

Senior Chris Hicks is a stalwart on the defensive line --- "He's just a load." --- on a defense that's been stingy, at worst, through four games.

"I don't want to put myself on everyone's bulletin board," Newsted said, "but we've got the potential to be really good. If we can stay away from the injury bug and me wearing them out too much, I think we could make a pretty good district run and playoff run."

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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, to be sure, and there's no place quite like Centralia. Newsted and others have stayed so long simply because there's no reason to leave.

"It's a very good place to be," Newsted, 49, said. "My son is a sophomore in high school and there could be another job open up for a lot more money, and I probably wouldn't go because I want him to finish high school here. It's such a good town, such a good school district and a good bunch of kids.

"It's just good community, all around."

You would think nerves would no longer be an issue for Newsted, who has more than two decades of high school football coaching experience. But this is something else.

"My most nervous game was Game One against Highland, even though I knew we were probably going to win," I said. "Everything was new to me, the simple things ... all the logistics got me nervous.

"There are tons of things I never knew Erle did --- there's a lot more work involved, a lot more than I ever expected behind the scenes. I didn't think it was possible, but I think I have even more respect for him now."

You certainly have to respect what Bennett did and the tradition he built. From first-had experience, Newsted knows it all too well. But at times, tradition can be a heavy load to bear.

"I'll do my best," he said, "to keep it going."

You can count on it.

First-year Centralia head coach Jim Newsted addresses his team after the Panthers' season-opening 44-6 win at Highland on Aug. 18.

Newsted looks to continue tradition

built by Erle Bennett at Centralia

Loeffler's Link

Tim Motley photo