Benedictine's Larry Wilcox collects career win No. 250

ATCHISON, Kan. - Saturday's 49-6 win over Peru State marked another career milestone for Benedictine head football coach Larry Wilcox as he earned career win No. 250.

Two of Benedictine's long-time assistant coaches, Dennis Murphy and Charlie Gartenmayer, have been on the Raven football staff since day one when Coach Wilcox took over the program in 1979.

"He has great strength of leadership," said Murphy. "He understands how to get people to get things done together and accomplish a common goal. When he gets his mind made up to get something done, he gets it done.

"He has the ability to get everyone working in the same direction and is open to what other's have to say and is willing to listen. He's always been very good at making the right decisions for the program and for Benedictine College."

Gartenmayer, who also serves as Athletic Director, was honored to be part of the win.

"It's been an honor to serve as one of his assistant coaches," said Gartenmayer. "Coach Wilcox cares deeply about not only Benedictine College, but the student-athletes. He has done things over the years with class and integrity and I couldn't be more happy for him."

Ironically, Saturday's opponent is also part of another piece of Raven football history. It was Peru State who last shutout Benedictine during the fifth week of the 1980 season during the second season of the Coach Wilcox era.

To date, the Ravens have played 369 games without being shutout, the longest current NAIA streak and second-longest running streak in college football. But for Coach Wilcox, the connection between the two records wasn't something that he had given much thought to.

"That 1980 season was a long time ago and we've played in a lot of games since then," Wilcox said. "But that's also a mark that we take great pride in as a coaching staff and that's a number that has only happened because we've been lucky to have the players and staff in place to keep it going."

The win pushed Wilcox ahead of legendary football coach Lou Holtz and edged him closer to the Top 20 on the college football all-time wins list ahead of legendary names like Bo Schembechler and Hayden Fry.

"It's nice to be mentioned with those coaches even though their wins were against schools like Ohio State or USC, but winning is relative," Wilcox said. "You still have to beat the teams you play and we've been fortunate enough as a staff over the years to be consistent and win, which has allowed for us to have some staying power."

While quick to point out that the players and his coaching staff have played a big part in his success at Benedictine, not lost on Wilcox is the fact that he's been able to accomplish his success at his alma mater.

"That has made these kinds of things that much more enjoyable," Wilcox said. "To be able to do it at a place that I see as very important and to do it with the people that I've been able to do it with is very special."

Wilcox credited long-time assistants such as Murphy, Gartenmayer, Jon Stammers, George Papageorgiou and former long-time assistant Mike Kersley along with the "15 to 20 others" along the way that have also left their impact on the program and its players.

"They have all been so loyal of the years and have helped us sustain the success that we've had," Wilcox said. "They've all left something along the way and have been big part of what has allowed us to have success. I see this more as a vocation than a job because I've been surrounded by such great people."

Currently tied for 23rd on the all-time list, the next legendary coach on the radar is Tom Osborne. Osborne earned 255 career wins at Nebraska from 1973 to 1997.