Scott City’s O’Neil to take Seaman head football job
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–For the last 20 years, it would be hard to find anyone in the western half of Kansas that has been more successful as a head coach than Glenn O’Neil. That includes nine years as head football coach for the Beavers, and the 20 years in basketball, including the 2015-16 season. Scott City will be filling head football and head basketball coaching positions, after O’Neil has turned in his resignation as the head coach for the Beaver football and boys basketball positions, as well as elementary school P.E. teacher effective at the end of the 2015-16 school year, and has accepted a head football coaching position at Seaman High School in Topeka.
Scott City has seen O’Neil continue the legacy of a winning season during his nine years, as he was 97-14 in nine seasons as head coach, and has been on the football staff for the last 20 years. In those nine years, the Beavers made the playoffs each season, winning the 3A State Championship in 2012, and finishing runner-up in 2014. O’Neil’s worst record in those nine seasons was 7-5, which was in his first year, his best record was 14-0 in 2012, while with no fewer than two losses in each of the last eight seasons. In those nine seasons, Scott City won seven district titles and won their Bi-District game each season. He served as an assistant under George Caine (1996-97), Brent Glann (1998-99) and Bill Arnold (2000-06). Scott City has had 29 consecutive years without a losing record.
In his first 19 years as the head basketball coach, O’Neil went to 11 state tournaments, winning state five times and finishing second twice. Also in those 19 seasons, his squads only had one losing season (9-12 in 2003-04), and reached the 20-win mark eight times. Scott City won only 42% of their games in the previous 10 seasons before O’Neil took over in the 1996-97 season. In his 20th season, O’Neil is 355-108, including a 3-2 mark this year. The Beavers are 121-8 in their previous four seasons. Including this year, he is 514-182 in his 30th season as a head coach, with nine years at Frankfort and one year at Wellington. At Frankfort, O’Neil was 150-62, and made three state appearances with two fourth place finishes, and was 9-12 in his lone year at Wellington, just one of three losing seasons in his career.
O’Neil will leave as the winningest coach in Scott City Football and Boys Basketball history.
As for O’Neil’s new team, the Seaman Vikings, they are a Class 5A school, and play in the Centennial league. Teams in that league include Emporia, Hayden, Highland Park, Junction City, Manhattan, Shawnee Heights, Topeka High, Topeka West, and Washburn Rural. With the exception of Hayden, who is 4A, Division II in the 2016-17 football cycle, every team is either in Class 5A or 6A. The Vikings will host Topeka West for the first game of the year on Friday, September 2nd, and the first matchup of Scott City’s last two head coaches, O’Neil and Bill Arnold, will be September 16 at Hayden High School. Blake Pierce was the Seaman head coach for the last 12 seasons, amassing a record of 54-69 in that time, including a 2-8 record in 2015. They lost to St. Thomas Aquinas in the Regional round of the 5A playoffs in November. Pierce will serve as the head coach for the East Team in the Shrine Bowl in July.
Glenn O’Neil
