Alumni Spotlight - Football
For Mike Musick '82, Fred Bouchard '87 and Bill Connell '91, the 2004 high school football season is one that each will cherish forever. All three Culver-Stockton College graduates finished in the top four in their respective state playoffs, and Musick's team captured the Missouri Class 4A state championship.
All three coaches, who played football for the Wildcats, were quick to credit lessons learned on the Hill with playing a critical role in their successes as high school football coaches.
Mike Musick, Clayton (Mo.) High School
 For Musick '82, the 2004 football team can only be described as a magical ride After serving for 21 years as the defensive coordinator at Clayton, Musick was asked in June 2004 to take over a program, that while loaded with talent, was coming off a controversial season.
The Greyhounds were forced to forfeit nine victories from the 2003 season because the Missouri State High School Activities Association ruled the school had used an ineligible player. The controversy involved a residency rule for one of the players and was, as Musick said, one of the lowlights of his career."
Musick was also an assistant principal at the school. When the head coach took another job in June, Clayton's principal asked Musick to take the reins of the football program.
"I told him that there weren't enough hours in the day to do both but he was great," Musick said. "He really made it happen for me."
Clayton rolled through the regular season with the only loss a 24-21 setback to St. Louis Mary Institute-Country Day School (MICDS), which went on to win the Class 3A state title, during the season's third week.
Three victories in the playoffs sent the Greyhounds to the state championship game against Webb City at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The two teams battled to a 20-20 tie in regulation, setting the stage for the first overtime game in MSHSAA history.
Clayton took a 27-20 lead with its first possession in overtime, before Webb City scored to cut the margin to 27-26. Then, one of the most improbable finishes in state history occurred. Instead of kicking the extra point and forcing a second overtime, Webb City decided to go for two points and the state title.
"I was pretty surprised," Musick reflected. "They had just scored on a broken play and called a timeout. That's when our spotters called down and said that their kicker is nowhere in sight and they were going to go for two.
"Fortunately, we stuffed them at the 2-yard line, and what an emotional event that was. All of that hard work, all of the disappointment of the previous season and it all came down to that one play. Good things happened for our kids."
And just like that, Musick guided Clayton to its first state championship in football in his first season as a head coach.
Musick graduated from Lafayette High School in St. Louis in 1978 and was recruited to Culver-Stockton College by Coach Jerry Maulin to play football and baseball. He played three years of football and four years of baseball, taking a position as a student assistant coach under Head Football Coach Vince Okruch during his senior year.
"Coach Okruch gave me a great opportunity," Musick said. "We weren't very successful on the field but the opportunity to intern as a coach turned into something wonderful. It gave me the chance to do something that I really loved and it was then I knew that I wanted to work with young people. I will always be indebted to Culver-Stockton College for giving me that opportunity."
Musick said the opportunity to play two sports also played a key role in deciding to come to Culver-Stockton College.
"I had a chance to play baseball at bigger colleges, but C-SC gave me the opportunity to play two sports," Musick said. "That's something that was very important to me."
Musick received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Culver-Stockton College in 1982, a master's degree from Northeast Missouri State University in 1989 and a doctorate degree from Saint Louis University in 1997. He taught business at Clayton High School for seven years before serving as an administrative assistant for three years and assistant principal for the past 11 years at the school of 900 students.
Musick and his wife, the former Beth Stocker -82, live in Brentwood, Mo. They are the parents of Lauren, a junior in college, and Michael, a junior at Clayton High School.
Fred Bouchard, Harrisonville (Mo.) High School
 Fred Bouchard '87 has found plenty of success as a high school football coach. In three stops at Palmyra, Bolivar and Harrisonville, he has compiled a nine-year record of 83-26 with eight appearances in the Missouri state playoffs.
Last November, Bouchard's team suffered a heart-breaking 45-42 loss in double overtime to St. Louis MICDS in the Class 3A state championship game.
"It would have been a lot better to have won that last one," Bouchard said of the highest-scoring championship game in MSHSAA history. "But that doesn't diminish what great things our kids accomplished this year."
The state title game appearance at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis was the second straight for Harrisonville, located 35 miles south of Kansas City. Bouchard's team was the defending Class 3A state champion after beating Ste. Genevieve Valle 35-0 in the 2003 title game, completing a perfect season with a 14-0 record.
After graduating from Culver-Stockton College in 1987, Bouchard spent one year as an assistant coach at Mark Twain High School, a year as a graduate assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University and three years at Camdenton before being named the head coach at Palmyra.
After going 1-8 his first year, Bouchard led the Panthers to records of 8-4, 12-1, 10-2 and 10-2 and each year Palmyra reached the state quarterfinals. Bouchard's teams finished sixth, third, fifth and fourth in the state poll during that four-year span.
Bouchard's success at Palmyra led him back to his alma mater in 1998. But after three seasons at Culver-Stockton and with just seven victories in 31 games, Bouchard decided to return to the high school level.
"I learned so much at C-SC that made me a better coach," Bouchard said. "It was somewhat a humbling experience and I guess that's exactly what I needed at the time."
Bouchard moved on to Bolivar in 2001, where he led the team to an 8-4 record and a berth in the state quarterfinals. The previous season Bolivar had been 3-7.
Then came an opportunity to go to Harrisonville in 2002. Harrisonville had won just once in 10 games the season before Bouchard took over but he led them to an 8-3 record and a state playoff berth, followed by appearances in back-to-back championship games.
Bouchard, who graduated from Gunnison (Colo.) High School in 1983, was recruited to Culver-Stockton College by Dick Lemke. Bouchard's father was an instructor at Western State (Colo.) College with Lemke, who then came to C-SC as head football coach in 1983.
"As a player, I learned how to prepare for games and how to motivate," said Bouchard, who played linebacker and fullback at C-SC. "Every coach has different ways of doing things. I always hoped that I could coach players the way I wanted to be coached."
Bouchard graduated from C-SC in 1987 and earned a master's degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 1990 and an education specialist certificate from the University of Missouri in 1992. Besides coaching football, Bouchard teaches psychology and exercise physiology.
Bouchard is married to the former Michelle Wiltshire '88. They are the parents of three children, Kyle, 15, Trevor, 14, and Brandi, 12.
Bill Connell, Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame High School
 Bill Connell '91 was never afraid to take a chance, either as a player at Culver-Stockton College and or as a head coach at Quincy Notre Dame.
After graduating from Plant City High School in Plant City, Fla., in 1986, Connell signed to play football at University of Central Florida. Things didn't work out there for Connell and one day the phone rang unexpectedly at the Florida home of Jim and Judy Connell.
On the other end was Dick Lemke, head football coach at Culver-Stockton College.
"I had never heard of Culver-Stockton and the next thing I know, I'm going 1,200 miles from home to play college football," Connell recalled. "But Coach Lemke sold me, my mother and my father on C-SC. He convinced us to give it a chance."
It didn't take Connell long to make a name for himself at C-SC. He was a four-year lettermen and two-time captain of the football team. As an outside linebacker, he was noted for his toughness and big-hit capability, starting 39 of 40 games during his career ("The only game I didn't start was the Homecoming game my senior year because of an injury; but I still played.")
Connell graduated in 1991 and worked in various capacities at C-SC until an opening for the head coaching position at Quincy Notre Dame became available. The QND program had been down on its luck and the administration decided to give the job to Connell, who had no previous head coaching experience at any level.
Connell steadily turned the Raiders program from perennial losers to consistent winners. After starting 1-8 and 4-5, QND made the state playoffs in 1994 with a 10-1 record. After 13 years as head coach, Connell's overall record is 85-50 with nine appearances in the state playoffs.
Last fall, the Raiders finished 10-3 after being eliminated by Coal City 22-0 in the Class 4A semifinals. The previous week, the Raiders had upset top-ranked Mahomet Seymour 14-10 in the quarterfinals.
What does Connell credit for turning around the program? Good people.
"I have always tried to surround myself with good people who can help me be successful," Connell said. "At QND, many people play that role ... coaches, parents, other administrators. When I started, I needed to get people to believe in the program and myself.
"I learned to never give up and not to accept mediocrity and losing. I had very good parents who believed in the value of athletics and helped to support us. My father taught me if you're going to play the game, you might as well win."
Connell, who has also served as QND's athletic director for nine years, looks back with fondness on his time on the Hill.
"It was really special to be able to get hands-on experience with the professors at C-SC," Connell said. "Gene Hall taught me a lot about teaching, taking control of a classroom and how to run an athletic department.
"Coach Lemke taught me how to treat people. Kathy Turpin taught me about rules. Rules are the rules and there are no exceptions. You try to treat everyone the same. I learned a lot about education and teaching in the classes of James Walter in the education department."
Connell's success at C-SC led to his sister, Carrie '93, enrolling at the college in 1990. She went on to a stellar basketball career for the Lady Wildcats, being named to the NAIA All-America team twice and leaving as the school's all-time leading rebounder.
"Carrie was always making fun of me being so far from home," Connell recalled. "She had signed to go to Florida Southern but didn't like it. She ended up talking with Coach Turpin on a visit to see me and ended up transferring here along with her friend Jill Woodberry."
Carrie also coached the Lady Wildcats basketball team for several years before moving back to Florida in 2002. She is currently coaching high school basketball and raising two children with her husband, Jim Mahon, in Brandon, Fla.
Bill has remained in the Midwest and developed a solid career as one of the top football coaches in Illinois. He currently lives in Quincy with his wife, Jayme, and their two children, Shelby, 7, and Jackson, 4.
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