Hays Post Sports
Legendary Kansas high school football coach and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Roger Barta has passed away at the age of 79 as first reported by Kansas Pregame.
Barta won eight state championships as the head coach at Smith Center and holds state records for consecutive wins, consecutive playoff wins and most undefeated seasons. He also holds the state record for career winning percentage (.826).
Barta was born in Ellsworth, Kan. on July 11, 1945 but grew up in Plainville and was a 1967 graduate of Plainville High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Fort Hays State University in 1967 then earned his Master’s Degree from the University of Georgia in 1971.
He was an assistant coach at Atwood, Tonganoxie and WaKeeney before being hired as head coach at Smith Center in 1978 where he took the Redmen to the state title game in his second season and won their first state title in his fifth season. Smith Center would go on to win eight titles (1982, 1986, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) under Barta who retired in 2012 with a career coaching record of 323-68.
Barta guided Smith Center to five consecutive undefeated seasons from 2004-08, winning 79 straight games, both state records and was featured in a best-selling book “Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains” from New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape chronicling the 2008 season.
Barta was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.