By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

WEBB CITY, Mo. — When it’s Friday night during Webb City football season, Gale Mahurin will be at the game, cheering on his beloved Cardinals.

“It’s a small town, and that’s what we grew up doing,” he said. “The old boy upstairs is going to have to get me if I’m going to miss a game.”

Saturday’s state title game in St. Louis will mark Mahurin’s 441st consecutive Webb City game, a streak he has no plans of ending.

“The games are all exciting,” he said. “Very few fans see this many championship teams. Webb City has seven, and hopefully we’ll have eight come Saturday.”

The undefeated Cardinals take on the one-loss Jefferson City Helias Crusaders at 3:15 p.m. Saturday for the Class 4 championship at the Edward Jones Dome.

For 37 years, nothing has stopped the 59-year-old retiree from Dyno Nobel from attending every home and road game — including the playoffs. He said he even skipped his daughter’s wedding rehearsal to attend a playoff game.

“Friday night is mine,” he said. “I told my daughter I’d be able to say ‘I do’ or whatever without going to the rehearsal.”

His wife, Terry, is a good sport about her husband’s Friday night ritual.

“I know I can’t die in November,” she said with a laugh.

The walls of a detached garage at Mahurin’s home in rural Oronogo are festooned with memorabilia, including autographed team pictures, banners and photos of the old stadium. A large banner also bears the signatures of the entire 1991 team, a gift from a buddy who Mahurin said regularly accompanies him to games. He has a group of friends with whom he travels, as well as a son-in-law from Carl Junction who makes frequent trips with him.

“My son-in-law has started to go,” he said. “I’m kind of converting him, and he’s getting into it.”

The streak began in 1971, before the Cardinals became the Class 4 powerhouse they are today.

Mahurin said his passion for Webb City football goes back to his childhood, when he and his father would catch as many games as they could at the old Rock Stadium.

Mahurin later played for the Cardinals, logging snaps as a center, fullback and linebacker during his high-school career.

While he doesn’t go all out with face or body paint, Mahurin said he does wear a “lucky T-shirt” to all the games, and he tries to park in a lucky parking spot. He said he still enjoys the games because he can now cheer on the sons — and in some cases grandsons — of players he spent his life watching.

With the Cardinals competing for their eighth state title and fourth since 2000, Mahurin said he hopes other fans don’t become complacent.

“The fans don’t get hyped up like they used to. They’re getting kind of stale,” he said. “You got to stay after it.”

While the football team is a source of community pride, Webb City High School Principal Stephen Gollhofer is quick to point out that football isn’t the school’s only standout program. The Cardinals have produced state champions in basketball, baseball and softball. Other extracurricular events, such as theater, and speech and debate also have earned distinction. Even the school’s marching band was honored by being selected to perform at the 2006 Rose Bowl, the game that determined the national champion in college football.

“Every graduating class since 1990 has the experience of a state championship team in at least one sport,” Gollhofer said. “So it’s a lot of success in a lot of areas.”

Academically, the school district has been accredited with distinction by the state in nine of the past 10 years.

Gollhofer attributes the success of the school’s scholastic and athletic programs to teachers and coaches honing the work ethic of students.

“The community is very supportive of the schools, and it’s not all about athletics,” he said. “I think the athletics is an overflow, because sports have become so technical, (student-athletes) have to be good problem solvers.”









Top of their game



The Webb City football program ranks in the top 10 in several significant categories, according to the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

With a victory Saturday in the state championship game, the school could move into a three-way tie for third for most state football titles. Webb City has captured seven titles, all since 1989. The Cardinals also boast the third-most playoff victories through 2007, with 46, and have the fifth-best playoff winning percentage in state history, at just more than 82 percent.