Roxana High School

Roxana High School is a secondary school in Roxana, Illinois, USA. It is part of the Roxana Community Unit School District #1. The school's mascot is the shell, named for the former Shell Oil (now ConocoPhillips) refinery also located in the town. RHS was founded in 1941. The school district encompasses all of Roxana, South Roxana, and parts of Wood River and Rosewood Heights.

U.S. School
School Name = Roxana High School


Administration = Mr. Derek Hacke, Principal
Mr. Mike Kurth, Assistant Principal
School Type = Public (U.S.)
Religious Affiliation = None
Grade Level = 9th through 12th Grade
Founded = 1941
Location = Roxana, Illinois, USA
Enrollment = About 590 students
Campus Surroundings = Suburban/Urban rural fringe
Mascot = Shell
Mascot

School Colors = Scarlet, Gold, & Blue

History

The area around Roxana began offering education in 1802 with the construction of Gilham's Pasture School on the northeast corner of what is now 13th Street and Edwardsville Road in Wood River, the current site of a Dairy Queen. Other general schools opened and closed throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century; these include Brushy Grove School (not to be confused with its later incarnation, Brushey Grove School) from 1858 to 1969, Roxana School from 1918 to 1926, Edison School from 1926 to 1936, and Burbank School starting in 1936. Burbank was built as a WPA project, and was named after botanist Luther Burbank.

The school district did not have a secondary school at that time; Roxana students went to other districts for their education instead, primarily Wood River High School, which had opened in 1925. In 1939, citizens of Roxana and part of neighboring Wood River voted to form a new school district; the high school itself was built in 1941 and has been added to throughout its tenure.

The original building had three stories, compromised of twelve classrooms, a main office, a library, and a gymnasium. A larger gym was added in 1954.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the district included four elementary schools: Central, Rosewood Heights, Burbank and South Roxana. Roxana Junior High School was built adjacent to the high school; today, they are one contiguous building. Central, Rosewood, South Roxana, and the Junior High buildings were all constructed simultaneously with the 1954 erection of the large gymnasium at the high school.

Brushey Grove School was sold at public auction in 1971. A US Bank now stands on the spot previously occupied by Brushey Grove School, and a commemorative marker can be found in its parking lot noting the existence of the old school.

Roxana School was located on Edwardsville Road in Roxana, between Walnut and Tydeman, facing the Standard Oil Refinery fence. After its demolition, the land was sold to a trucking company, and it has been used for that purpose since at least 1970.

Edison School was located at the southwest corner of Tydeman and Central Avenue in Roxana, directly across the street from the First Baptist Church of Roxana. After Edison's demolition in the late 1960s, Roxana Public Library was built on the site in 1970.

Burbank added an addition in 1966. However, as enrollment began to decline with the passage of the Post-War baby boom, schools began closing. Burbank, the oldest of the four, closed in 1983 and was sold to a local chiropractor. The building still stands at the southwest corner of Central Avenue (Illinois Route 111) and Thomas Street.

Rosewood Heights School followed in 1989, and the building has since been razed. Following the closure of these two schools, sixth graders were moved to the junior high building, and the remaining two grade schools (Central School and South Roxana School) now service grades Pre-K through 5.

Campus

RHS has grown considerably from its beginnings; the school now contains over twenty-five full classrooms, two gyms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, a weight room, a baseball field, a football field, a cinder track, six tennis courts, a full bus garage, and entire buildings dedicated to science, family and consumer sciences, technology, and automotive education. A junior high school and the school district's administrative offices also adjoin the high school building.

ports

RHS is a part of the Illinois High School Association in the West Division of the South Central Conference, participating in 10 out of 14 sports offered for boys and 10 out of 14 sports offered for girls; they are:

For boys

Baseball

Basketball

Bowling

The 2006-2007 Shells varsity boys' bowling finished the season with a 1-9 record.

=Cross Country=

Football

The 2006 Shells football team finished with a 1-8 record, marking the first win in almost three seasons and snapping a 23-game losing streak. The lone win came September 22, 2006, against the Gillespie Miners. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17241810&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8] Head coach Nathan Miles, a 1998 Roxana graduate, was able to do what his two predecessors had not: win a game. Unfortunately, the program took a step backward in 2007, which saw the Shells go 0-9, getting outscored 394-32, and being shutout four times including games against archrivals Wood River and Marquette.

This recent history of futility stands in stark contrast to the rich tradition of winning football at Roxana High. From 1946 through 1962, Coach Earl McLane's Shells racked up a record of 87-47-8 on the gridiron. [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1833.htm]

Beginning in the fall of 1970, Coach Charles Raich raised the standard even higher. Averaging 7 wins per year for the next 29 years, Coach Raich would compile a record of 187-90-2, retiring after the 1998 season. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=15080450&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8] Declining enrollment led to the only four losing seasons of Coach Raich's tenure in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996. Raich led the football Shells to 13 appearances in the Illinois State High School playoffs, advancing as far as the state semi-finals on 5 occasions. Through most of Raich's tenure at Roxana, the Shells were members of the Mississippi Valley Conference, winning the conference championship on 8 occasions.

Coach Raich led three teams to undefeated regular seasons. The 1973 team finished 8-0-1, but could advance no farther as there were no postseason playoffs at the time. The 1981 team finished the regular season 9-0, recording shutouts in its first 5 games of the season, and allowing a mere 37 points in the 9 regular season games. The 1981 team beat both Rantoul and Murphysboro in the Class 4A playoffs, running their record to 11-0 before falling at home to Geneseo 10-0 in the State Semi-Finals. [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/fb/records/xbyyr2.htm]

In 1987, the Shells again went through the regular season finishing 8-1, and this time made it all the way to the State Class 4A finals in Bloomington before falling, finishing with a 12-2 record. The championship game was lost 14-7 to New Lenox (Providence). [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/fb/records/team1-2.htm]

Through the years, Coach Raich was assisted by an excellent corps of assistant coaches including Bill Smith, Jeff Welker, Rich Davis and Joe Huff.

In 1987 Coach Raich was inducted in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, [http://www.ihsfca.com/ihsfbca_hall_of_fame_selections.htm] and a plaque bearing his name is on the brick wall behind the north endzone at Zuppke Field at UIUC's Memorial Stadium. On May 17, 2000, his 67th birthday, Coach Raich was inducted into the St. Louis Metropolitan Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=452816&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8] Including his 4 seasons as coach of Calhoun High School in Hardin, Raich compiled a career record of 202 wins and 118 losses, becoming one of only five coaches to amass 200 wins or more in Illinois history. The football field at Roxana High has been named after him and now is known as Charles Raich Field. On May 31, 2008, Coach Raich died at his home in Roxana. [http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/coach_14618___article.html/dies_revered.html]

After Coach Raich's retirement, longtime assistant and line coach Bill Smith took over as head coach and reached the playoffs 3 times in 5 years on the job. Coach Smith retired after the 2003 campaign, finishing the season 9-0, the sixth undefeated regular season in school history. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=10505840&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8] The Shells lost in the second round of the playoffs to Mt. Zion, despite being ranked 2nd in the state in Class 4A at the time. The 35-14 home loss prompted some to characterize the 2003 Shells as overrated, pointing to their relatively soft conference schedule. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=10485777&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8] Coach Smith went out with a 10-1 season, finishing his 5 years as head coach with a 31-19 record. Coach Smith was the 2003 Alton Telegraph Small-School Coach of the Year and was named Illinois coach of the year by the St. Louis Metropolitan Football Coaches Association. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=11220499&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8]

Nobody could have predicted it at the time, but the playoff loss to Mt. Zion would be the first of 23 consecutive losses for the Shells, a streak that was not broken until September 22, 2006.

Jeff Welker was named head coach on April 21, 2004, and coached the Shells through a difficult 0-9 season in his one year as head coach. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=11365193&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8] Despite the difficulty that Coach Welker had in that one season, he remains the favorite of many former players with whom he worked through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

2003 marked the last playoff appearance for the Shells. They are 18-15 all-time in the state playoffs, appearing in Class 3A in 1976 and 1997, and in Class 4A in 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002 and 2003. [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/fb/records/xbysch16.htm]

Golf

Soccer

Tennis

Track & Field

=Wrestling=

The Shells wrestling squad has historically been a strong program, being the champions of the now-defunct Mississippi Valley Conference for 16 years consecutively (from 1972 to 1987). In IHSA state finals, the Shells made appearances in 1984, 2002, 2003, and 2004, finishing 2nd in the state in 2004.

Scholar Bowl

For girls

Basketball

Bowling

Competitive Cheerleading

=Cross Country=

Golf

Soccer

They succeeded their season 13-0 with 25 goals by their star player Luke Settle. And was assisted by Blake Groves : )

Softball

Tennis

Track & Field

Volleyball

Scholar Bowl

Non-IHSA-sanctioned sports

Weightlifting and Powerlifting

Other extracurricular organizations

* Student Council
* Business Network
* Art Club
* German Club
* History Club
* FCCLA
* Photography Club
* National Honor Society
* Pep Club
* "R" Club (for lettermen)
* SADD
* Spanish Club
* Sweet 16 (a dance team)
* ThespiansStarted by Ms. Birdine Groshong, RHS's Thespian Troupe 556 produces a fall play and spring musical annually. Most recently, the troupe's director of 23 years, Mr. Ken Webster, retired after the 2005-2006 school year; Mrs. Judy McGill is the new director.
* Chorus
* Honors Choral Ensemble
* Science Olympiad
* Concert BandThe RHS concert band, which also functions as a marching band and a pep band, has obtained a First rating at IHSA's organizational contest for four years running, most recently in 2007.
* Jazz Band
* Tri-MStarted in the 2005-2006 school year, RHS's Tri-M chapter celebrates over 30 scholar musicians in its current membership.

Notable alumni

*Harry Gallatin - Basketball player, coach; Basketball Hall of Fame member.
*David Herndon - United States federal judge
*Dave Glover - nationally-syndicated talk radio personality
*Mark Hopper - Academy Award Winner

References

*Brown, Jeff. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=452816&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8 "Raich inducted into Hall of Fame"] . "Alton Telegraph". 19 May 2000.
*IHSA. [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1833.htm Season Summaries]
*IHSA [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/fb/records/xbysch16.htm Boys Football Playoff Records]
*Krupa, John. [http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15441082&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8 "Roxana mulling new high school"] . "Alton Telegraph". 24 October 2005.
*Shashack, Greg. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=10485777&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8 "Lack of resistance in SCC comes back to bite Shells"] . "Alton Telegraph". 9 November 2003.
*Shashack, Greg. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=11220499&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8 "Smith legacy more than wins, losses Coach retires after 35 years with Roxana football"] . "Alton Telegraph". 1 April 2004.
*Shashack, Greg. [http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=11365193&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=8 "Welker will take the reins at Roxana Longtime assistant of Charlie Raich takes over grid program"] . "Alton Telegraph". 22 April 2004.
* [http://www.roxanaschools.org/ Roxana CUSD #1 Website]
*Shashack, Greg. [http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/coach_14618___article.html/dies_revered.html "Revered Roxana Coach Dies"] . "Alton Telegraph" 31 May2008

External links

* [http://roxanaschools.org/joomla/roxx/Primary/html/schools/RSHS/IndexRHS.htm RHS Official Website]
* [http://RoxanaHighSchoolAlumni.Info/ RoxanaHighSchoolAlumni.Info Reunion Site]
* [http://www.geocities.com/roxana_high/ Roxana Community High School Alumni and Reunion website (unofficial)]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roxanahigh/ Roxana High School Yahoo Groups - for Reunion Information and Class Contacts]