Herculaneum has overhauled its athletic department – with a lot of help from De Soto.
Jonathan Roop was hired to replace Robert Bradshaw as the school’s activities director and assistant principal and Cody Hunter has been hired as the Blackcats’ new football head coach. Both Roop and Hunter were hired June 6 after working as coaches and teachers at De Soto.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to come here and make a difference,” said Hunter, a 2002 Herculaneum graduate who replaced Dave Cook. “I really respect Jon. He’s great for the kids and will be great for the educational institution. I’ve known and coached with him for a long time. We’re friends and colleagues so it makes a big difference.”
Roop and Hunter were assistant coaches under Chris Johnson for the Dragons’ football team. Roop did not coach last year.
“I stepped (away) from football last year to reflect,” said Roop, 32, who lives in Hillsboro with his wife and two young sons. “I had reached a crossroads where I was going to take the route of coaching or administration. My gut kept telling me to look at the administration direction. This was something I could do to prepare myself to be an assistant principal and athletic director.”
A social studies teacher at De Soto Junior High last year, Roop has 10 years of experience. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College before earning a master’s degree in educational administration from Missouri Baptist University.
He’ll be paid $72,000 per year at Herculaneum.
Although not a Herky alumni like Hunter, Roop said he is cognizant of the school’s rich tradition in athletics. The girls cross country program has won 11 state championships and holds the state record with 14 straight appearances on the medal stand in Jefferson City.
Led by an incredible pack of distance runners, the Blackcats finished third in Class 3 at this year’s state track and field championships. The girls basketball team had a record of 22-4 this winter.
“What the girls cross country team has done is unheard of and that’s right up there with some of the greatest programs in the state like Webb City football, Jefferson City like they used to be in football and Valle Catholic football,” Roop said. “Coach (Kyle Davis) has built a remarkable program that continues the legacy that Jim Kasten built.”
Hunter will have a big job to do guiding the football team.
In Cook’s final season, the Blackcats finished 1-9 and were outscored 155-7 in its final three games.
“One of the biggest challenges is rebuilding the football program and that starts with Cody,” Roop said. “I couldn’t be more excited for the community and the kids here because he’s going to wonderful things here.
“Cody’s great at building relationships with kids. He’s going to come in and tell you how it is and the kids will listen. He’s a great motivator in the classroom and as a coach,” he said.
After graduating from Herculaneum, Hunter played linebacker at William Jewell College in Liberty. While at William Jewell, Hunter studied history and education and spent a semester in Europe. The 13-year educator will teach world history and will be paid $42,500.
Because he was hired after the school year ended, Hunter didn’t have the opportunity to meet his players, or prospective players at Senn-Thomas Middle School. Trying to convince students to come out for the team is his top priority.
“The numbers are down and I’ve heard from a number of people there’s a lot of good-looking kids walking the hallways,” Hunter said. “We need to get them out on the practice field and rebuild one step at a time.”
Hunter said didn’t plan on being a head coach, but when the Herky job came open, it was a now-or-never situation for him.
“It makes it pretty easy to come home and come to work every day excited,” he said. “The smells are still there. Seeing the field, the stone bleachers, the victory bell, those things are in my heart forever.”
What brand of football will the Blackcats play under Hunter and his large staff of paid coaches and volunteers?
“We’re going to hit,” he said. “We’re going to hustle and we’re not going to be quitters. If we do those three things, regardless of the athletes we have every year, we’re going to be OK. We’re going to play teams with more talent than we have, but if you’re giving me 100 percent and don’t quit, if we get beat, I can sleep well at night.”
Hunter has retained many of Cook’s assistant coaches and said several former Blackcats or coaches have volunteered to help. Hunter said because he’s a graduate of the school, he doesn’t expect any slack from the stands on Friday nights.
“I don’t expect it,” he said. “My job is to make sure what’s going on that football field is what’s important to me. I can’t control what goes on in the stands. I hope our community rallies around us. I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve said if I’m coaching Herky football, they’ll be in the stands. And these are people who don’t have kids in the school.”
Tom Almany was a coach at Herky when Hunter played for the Blackcats. Having Almany back on the sidelines gives Hunter a sense of pride and relief.
“A Blackcat football game without Tom Almany is like a game without a football,” Hunter said. “He knows more about football than most. I don’t think I could have a staff without him.
“I want Blackcats coaching Blackcats, kind of like Valle Catholic has. They’ve got five or six paid coaches and they have about 20 people on the sideline because they love the product Valle’s putting out.”
Valle is the terror of the I-55 Conference in which Herculaneum, Crystal City, Grandview, Jefferson, St. Pius X and St. Vincent all have to play once a year. The Blackcats were the last conference team to beat Valle, in 2012.
After playing a junior varsity schedule last year, Grandview rejoins the rest of the conference this fall.
“The conference will be competitive this year and some teams have some good players but I think we’ll compete pretty well with most of them,” Hunter said.