Scott City to name field after longtime coach

Scott City High School's football field will bear the name of a legendary coach.

The Scott City School District last week approved naming the field after William "Wil" Wilthong, who cast a giant shadow over the Scott City High School football program for parts of four decades.

"We had a man who gave his life to this school, including a lengthy stand as coach and athletic director and as a member of the school board," said Lance Amick, Scott City's baseball coach and assistant football coach. "While he's still living, I think it would be a real honor for Wil Wilthong to have his name out there on that football field."

The board members unanimously agreed.

The official name on the field is yet to be determined. Should it be billed as William Wilthong Field or Wil Wilthong Field?

"I've always known him as coach," Amick said.

The board agreed it would determine the official name of the field in the coming months, with the designation to be set by the first home game of Scott City's 2011 football campaign.

Wilthong nurtured Scott City football to prominence as one of the top programs in the state from 1968 to 1995. Wilthong also coached baseball and served as athletic director at the Scott County school for the final 15 years of his tenure.

His career record of 193 wins and 71 losses, a .731 winning percentage, ranks among the all-time among Missouri high school coaches.

Wilthong led the Rams to 13 conference titles and four district championships in 27 seasons.

"Once the kids got a taste of winning, got used to me and knew what I expected, we took off," Wilthong said in a 2002 Southeast Missourian interview. "We started a weight program, the players got stronger, started believing in themselves and bought into my philosophy."