Rossville-Alvin High School offered many sports for both boys and girls. The girls competed in golf, cross country, volleyball, basketball, softball, and track.  The boys competed in golf, cross country, baseball, basketball, football, and track.

 

The Bobcats competed in the following conferences, in historical order:

 

 

 

The Rossville-Alvin football team has the most extensive history listed on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org).  Season by season coverage is available for every team from 1965 until the end of the school's existence in the spring of 2005.  There were some great ones at RAHS as well.  The 1989-90 team sticks out as the most successful.  This group followed an 8 - 1 regular season with two wins in the playoffs before losing in the quarterfinals (an Elite 8 appearance!).  The best of the Rossville-Alvin HIgh School grid iron seasons are listed below.

 

1968-69    5 - 3                                                          Coach Clinton Goodin

1969-70    6 - 3                                                          Coach Bill Spencer

1970-71    5 - 4                                                          Coach Norton Spencer

1973-74    6 - 3                                                          Coach Mike Whitaker

1974-75    6 - 3                                                          Coach Mike Whitaker

1975-76    5 - 4                                                          Coach Mike Whitaker

1982-83    6 - 3                                                          Coach Dave McDonald

1983-84    6 - 3                                                          Coach Dave McDonald

1986-87    5 - 4                                                          Coach Dave McDonald

1987-88    6 - 3                                                          Coach Dave McDonald

                            Lost to Arcola 30 - 6

1994-95   6 - 3                                                           Coach Dave McDonald

 

Some of the great football players at Rossville-Alvin include Scott Dunavan and Ryan Cox. Dunavan set a school record with a receiving average (per reception) of 27.7, and in the process caught 13 passes for 300 yards. Cox set a school record with four interceptions in their second round playoff game on November 4, 1989 against Bement.

                        

 

The girls volleyball program is well recorded but only for the years of 1976-77 through 1987-88.  Nancy Cox led the lady netters to a twelve year record of 114 - 91, a .556 winning %!.  Coach Cox' best seasons are listed below.

 

1976-77       3 - 3                                                               Coach Nancy Cox

1977-78       8 - 8                                                               Coach Nancy Cox

1979-80     13 - 5                                                                Coach Nancy Cox

1980-81     14 - 3                                                                Coach Nancy Cox

1985-86     17 - 7                                                                Coach Nancy Cox

1986-87     17 - 6                                                                Coach Nancy Cox

 

 

The Rossville-Alvin boys basketball team brought nome some hardware from the State Tournament.  The boys won Regional titles in 1960 and 1969 in the old one-class system.  Unfortunately the records of these two teams are not currently available. They also had some nice seasons recorded along the way. Some of the great Rossville-Alvin players in the late 1980's to the early 2000's were Joshua Sroufek, Dylan Alt, Ryan Cox and Todd Becicka.

 

1979-80    17 - 11                                             Coach Ken Crawford

1980-81    15 - 9                                               Coach Ken Crawford

 

 

545 - School record for most three-point shots attempted, held by Dylan Alt.

210 - School record for most three-point shots made, also held by Dylan.

162 - Consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal made. This streak lasted from the eighth game of the 1994 season until the eighth game of the 2002 season.

28 - Free throw attempts by Todd Becicka in a game against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on January 16, 2004. He made 24 of 28.

16 - Three-point shots attempted by Dylan Alt in a January 3, 1996 game against Donovan. He was 10 of 16 from behind the arc.

9 - Three-point shots made by Ryan Cox in a December 5, 1989 game against Urbana University, a record he would hold until Alt's 10 made in 1996.

.561 - The field goal percentage put forth by Joshua Sroufek from 1997-2001, the best in school history. He was 472 of 842 overall.

 

Coach Ken Crawford coached R-AHS from the 1977-78 season through the 1980-81 season. He then went to Teutopolis and retired after the 2006-07 school year, becoming a Hall of Fame coach.  At Teutopolis and has a career record of 490-158 through the 1999-2000 school year.

 

Another RAHS coach, Keith Baldwin, began his coaching career at R-AHS and also had success at Ridge Farm and Watseka High Schools, accumulating a record of 476-233.

 

 

"Rossville-Alvin High School hosted the holiday (Christmas) tournament from the late 1960s to the 1990s. It was at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s with usually 16 teams playing over a 3 day period.  During its era it was one of the premier class A tournaments in the state.  Some of the notable players who played in this annual classic included:  Rick Schmidt of St. Joseph-Ogden later University of Illinois; John Timmons, Harry Gudeman, and Scott Eells of Hoopeston ( Indiana University (32- 0) national champions); Brian Moore and Monte Hazelbaker of Oakwood; Jeff Slavik and Scott Finet of Westville;  Charlie McCloud of Georgetown;  John Gooding, Rich Gross, and Ken Laffoon (all four year starters) from Sheldon; Jeff Jacob, Rod and Tim Wyss of Cissna Park (state scoring leader in 1981-1982 later played at Eastern Il. and Northwestern);  Kevin Root, Greg Matta and Thad Matta (current Head Coach of the 2005-2006 of The Ohio State Buckeyes) of Hoopeston; Tab Carmien (univ. of Ill. football) and Lance Freeman of St. Joe-Ogden; Stu Selock of Beecher; and  David Chandler of Chrisman.  There were many other outstanding players that could be mentioned and I encourage others to add the names that I overlooked.  There were many Illinois Basketball Coaches who became legends who lead their teams.  Some of the Coaches include:  Randy Feller-Hoopeston, Jack Hardy-Westville, and  Roger Beals-Chrisman.  The bottom line is that Rossville-Alvin High School did an outstanding job of hosting this great East-Central Illinois Event.  There was tremendous fan support and excitement at a time before cable tv during the holiday season."

 

From James E. Bryant:

 

"I echo Mr. Merckle's comments regarding the Rossville-Alvin Tournament. I was a regular attendee at many of those prestigious tournaments from my early childhood on until its later demise. In my book Remember Westville, the story of the 1976 Tigers basketball team their hopes, dreams and the season the town can not forget, I talk about how traditional it became for many fans to make the journey north through the wintery Christmas holiday season to watch their beloved Tigers in action against some of the best teams around the east central portion of Illinois. Westville was fortuante to win the 1976 Rossville Tournament that year. The teams that participated in the tournament ranged from as far north as Beecher to as far south as Chrisman. It was regarded in its time as the most competitive Class A tournament in the state of Illinois and was a first class operation that was put together by the people in Rossville. I looked forward every season to this memorable tournament. Its a shame that it had to end."

 

To obtain a copy of James Bryant's book, Remember Westville, go to the web address of www.rememberwestville.com .    

 

 

The Rossville-Alvin Lady Bobcats won a Regional title of their own.  Unfortunately the coach's name and team record of this team is not available. In fact no other team records are available regarding the RAHS girls basketball program.  Please e-mail us with any information you might be able to provide.

 

 

 

The Rossville-Alvin thinclads had some great success on the boys and girls sides.  All of the medals won by both the girls and boys teams were won between 1990 and 2002, proving the RAHS talent was strong to the end.  Three boys won a total of six medals at the IHSA State Meet while one girl and a girl's relay team also earned a medal.

 

 

                   David Loschen         High Jump                      8TH Place

 

 

 

 

Rossville-Alvin also had an excellent cheerleading program.  Kayla Whorrall tells us the girls faired very well in several county-wide competitions.  The ladies took first in 2001-02 and again in 2002-03.  In 2004-05, the school's final year, the cheerleading team finished second in the county's annual competition!

 

The Illinois Theatre Festival is the largest, non-competetive high school theatre festival in the world. It was organized in 1976 by teachers from the Chicago suburbs. This festival is still going strong as they perform at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) and Illinois State University every other January. Rossville-Alvin High school participated in this festival in 1989.

 

 

Great Teachers    

 

If you went to Rossville-Alvin between the 1970s and 2005, you know who Mr. Ward is.  Mr. Ward was not only a great teacher, but an excellent role model for the kids, with a personality that no one could forget!   

 

 

If you have any information regarding the may successes of Rossville-Alvin High School please send us an e-mail at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net.  You can also write to us via real mail at:

 

Chicago, Il.   60631