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Farrell football factory to close at McCook High
The Farrell family football factory will be closing at the end of the current McCook High School season.
One of the sons of Pat and Leigh Farrell have been a part of the Bison football program every year since head coach Jeff Gross took over 12 years ago.
Ryan was an eighth grader when Coach Gross took over the McCook program in 1998. Ryan graduated from McCook High School in 2003 and was a member of the 2002 Bison team that went 13-0 and won the first of back-to-back Class B state championships.
Paul graduated in 2006 and was a sophomore in the fall of 2003 when McCook went 13-0 again to win the second consecutive state title. He also played on back-to-back 12-1 teams in 2004-05 that finished runner-up both years in the state playoffs.
Chris is a senior this fall and a co-captian on the 6-2 Bison squad that will compete in the playoffs starting next week.
Coach Gross said the Farrell brothers have played a very important role in the success of the Bison program, as have many other family members who have worn McCook uniforms in the past 12 years. But Gross points out that Ryan, Paul and Chris are unique, as at least one of the Farrell boys have been in the Bison program every season Gross has been here.
"We've had a lot of families come through the program, and I don't want to make anybody feel less important, whether it be the McCorkles or the Klugs or the Pervises and on and on," Gross said. "But I thought this was neat because in 12 years, at some point, I've coached one of these kids every year. None of those other families can say that."
The Farrell Factor
Another unique aspect of the family is what Coach Gross and his staff labels as the Farrell Factor. Gross said all three made a big stride between their junior and senior seasons.
"All these boys, and it started with Ryan, they played their levels -- they all played freshman ball, then they played JV as sophomores and became key (varsity) backups and pivotal players as juniors, then all started as seniors," Gross said. "They were all very good at the positions they played. Ryan was the start of that. Ryan started both ways for us at defensive tackle and offensive tackle, right tackle both sides. His class had a lot of athleticism and skill. We could do what we did because we had some great lineman, and he was huge part of that team.
"Us coaches at McCook High School, we have what we call the Farrell Factor, and we've always talked about that, and this year that was evident when we came into the season. We're talking in meetings about who do we think is going to be here, who is going to step up here. What we call the Farrell Factor is the jump these boys all took from their junior to their senior year."
Gross said Paul probably developed a bit faster than his two brothers, in terms of where he was at as a football player as a junior compared to his siblings.
"Paul was close in doing a lot of good things, he just had some really good kids ahead of him," Gross said. "Ryan, as a junior, had some big guys ahead of him. It's no knock on Ryan, and we've talked about this a hundred times, but if Ryan would have lived in the weight room like these two guys, you're talking about a kid who would probably have garnered every honor there was, but that wasn't what was important to him. He put forth the effort when the season came.
"We went to that Farrell Factor -- we watched Ryan make this huge jump from his junior to his senior year, and then we watched Paul, who was pretty close as junior, make another huge jump to his senior year. So we're getting ready for Chris. He started on the JV and did some nice things for us last year, but all the time there is going to be that Farrell Factor, and there's a lot of kids that make that jump from their junior to senior year. We believe that was going to happen with Chris, and sure enough, come this last summer and two-a-days, there was that Farrell Factor again. He was out there on the field playing like a senior, being dominant, and he has been a big part of our defense's success this year."
Unique individuals
The Farrell boys have shared in the recent success of the Bison football program. One thing they don't share is long conversations about football.
"Not really, we all kind of just do our own thing," Paul said.
Ryan lives and works in McCook, but he won't watch Chris play this season until the playoffs. Ryan doesn't attend regular-season Bison games.
"It's tradition, I've never come to games ever since I got out (of high school), I don't come until the playoffs," Ryan said. "I just started that when I got out of school. I listen to the games on radio, until playoffs start, then I follow them (in person) through from then on."
Ryan, a 6-3 and 275 pounds during his playing days, was a big part of helping start a tradition of strong Bison teams. He was a member of the 2001 McCook team that started the 71-game regular-season win streak that was snapped earlier this fall with the Sept. 11 loss to Aurora. He said it was not tough to listen to the Bison lose that game or the 24-7 loss to Gering earlier this season.
"You have your ups, you have your downs, I hope they are playing and having a good time, that's what really matters," Ryan said.
Paul is currently a student at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. He said he attends Bison games when he can, and he was in McCook when the Bison lost to Gering Oct. 2.
Paul was a 200-pound offensive guard and defensive end for the Bison. He was asked how tall he was?
"Six-five," he answered, with a grin on his face.
"Five-six," Ryan said, wearing a smirk.
Paul said the tradition of Bison football is "pretty awesome," and that probably played a role in his decision to not play college football.
"That was another thing about going off to college and maybe not winning that many games would be a big change," he said.
Ryan also had collegiate football offers, but he decided not to play football beyond his Bison days. Chris also has no plans to compete in football past this year. He wants to attend college and perhaps go into the medical field, maybe to become an EMT.
Bison football tradition
It's tough to think that a team with a 6-2 record might be considered substandard, but such in the tradition associated with McCook football.
"We pass it around a little bit, like joke around about it a little bit, sorry for losing the winning streak that Ryan helped start, stuff like that," Chris said. "It's tough to have had their success, and then follow with this year, but I'm having fun with it just as much as they did."
The youngest Farrell sibling said he watched his brothers play for the Bison, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps.
"I remember watching both years back to back when we won state in 2002-03," Chris said. "I remember going to those games, getting pictures, and that's what I wanted to do my senior year."
The Farrell boys were all reserved during the interview for this story, but Coach Gross said that's not always the case. Gross also said one of the neat things about the brothers is that they are three unique individuals.
"They always have been and that's why it's a unique group," he said. "So many other families, they want to follow in each other's footsteps, and that's not the case. They are proud of each other, they respect each other.
"They're quiet right now, but make no mistake, especially Ryan and Paul, they were chatterboxes that you could never get to shut up. Paul has gotten quieter as he's gotten older. Ryan will still talk your head off in the right setting. Chris has always been a little quieter.
"The one thing I would attest to, they are all different. You talk to a lot of people about brothers, and sometimes they like to compare. The younger two are probably more alike than Ryan. These two (Paul and Chris) were high school workout warriors -- they lived in the weight room, they died in the weight room. Chris has transformed his body into what I call a rock. He lives and dies for fitness, and Paul was the same way."
Football in the family
The Farrell boys have had some long family ties to the Bison football program. Grandpa Howard Fletcher (Leigh's father) was a former McCook standout and a member of the 1946 McCook state championship team. Fletcher lettered for the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the 1948 season. Great uncle Leo McKillup, another former Bison player, is listed as a member of the Notre Dame team from 1948-50.
Coach Gross said the Farrell brothers all have kept their successful high school football careers in perspective -- that it's just a game and just a small part of their respective lives.
"They are all three different kids that lead three different lives," Gross said. "But these three guys between them have walked on to Memorial Stadium (state playoff finals) five, six times, they got to experience that as sophomores, juniors, seniors, in different stages of their football careers. Besides the fact they're played for state titles, they've been involved in a tremendous amount of wins around here. In my 12 years here we've won over 110 games -- that's a tremendous amount of wins that these guys were all a significant part of at some level. Whether they were starting or not, they were out there making us better every day in practice. There's a lot of pride in that.
"They are all going to be successful in their lives some where or some how, and we'd like to believe that McCook football has, albeit not a huge part, but definitely a part in influencing their lives from here on out. Because wherever they go, they were involved in something pretty special, and no one can ever take that away from them.
"The memories that they've gained through the football program and their family's influence in this community. The Farrell name, through the pharmacy and the things that they do in this community, has been huge and these guys have grown up with that as well."
Call it the Farrell Factor.