The Essence of #StaleyStrong within the Staley Falcon Football Program

What moments in school history helped define the essence of #StaleyStrong, the mantra of the program and school for the past 15-years?  To be #StaleyStrong, a player must be committed to doing whatever it takes to win and when difficult circumstances present themselves, a Staley Falcon football player will have the Grit to persevere! Listed below are a few moments in history that have come to help define #StaleyStrong:

4-OT Game in the State Semi-Final Game vs. Lees Summit West, 2011 as told by Head Coach Fred Bouchard:
That game was a crazy game for sure.  It was a 4 OT game. It ended 76-70 but remember that the week before in the quarterfinals we beat Fort Osage 7-6 when we stopped their 2-pt attempt with under a minute. It was quite the scoring range!  I think I asked Phil (Def. Coord) and Shane (LB Coach) five times, “do we have some answers to slow down their offense?”  They assured me they did. I think both Morgan Steward (RB) and Trent Hosick (QB) ran for over 250 yards and 4 TD’s each. We ran over 100 plays but only threw like 10 passes.  None bigger than to Tyler Nugent who caught a TD grab on 3rd and long in the 2nd OT.  I almost went for the 2- pt conversion after that touchdown but LSW called a timeout and Craig Lewis (assist. Coach) said he thought we should kick it. I appreciated Craig saying that at that time and knew LSW was setting their defense to stop the 2-pt.  

2-pt. Conversion to Win the State Championship Game vs. Pattonville, 2017 as told to Kevin Kooi by Head Coach Phil Lite:
After Pattonville scored to go up 35-28, I got on the headphones with the coaches and said, “When we score, we are going for two.”  This decision took the pressure off of the scoring drive and allowed our staff to call plays that would put us in position to score.  Pattonville continued to blitz both backers, which left the perimeter open for short passes to Aaron Keast (running back).  A penalty helped put us in position to score.  Johnny Football (John Raybourn, QB), threw a touchdown to Zach Elam (TE) off his back foot.  I called timeout to set the play we had worked throughout the season.  “Snag” will forever live on in Staley Nation.  The motion from Rod Criss confused the defense and made them shift leaving a crossing JD Benbow open on the backside for the go-ahead 2-point conversion bringing the score to 36-35.  Our players never quit!

Transition from Class 4 to Class 5 and now, Class 6 for the 2022 Season as told to Kevin Kooi. By Head Coach Steve Rampy:
After years of dominating Class 4 and Class 5 football in the State of Missouri, Staley HS football made the transition to Class 6 for the 2022 season.  There were many folks outside of our program that had doubts about how competitive we would be, how we would be able to compete week in and out in Class 6 and that we were destined for an average season.  Our kids worked their tails off as did our coaches.  We competed with some of the best programs in Class 6 and ended the season with a 7-5 record setting many season offensive records.  This group of kids will forever be the Originals helping Staley football move to the top class in the State.  Our kids rose to the occasion and defined the essence of #StaleyStrong.