Longtime assistant Owatonna football coaches retire
Long-time football assistant coaches Doug Wanous and Kevin Stelter pose for a photo together after being honored for their time as a part of the Owatonna High School football program. Both coaches served the program for over 30 years. Staff photo by Roy Koenig
When Owatonna begins a new era in football next fall, a pair of mainstays will be missing from the sideline at the new high school. Kevin Stelter and Doug Wanous announced their retirements during Sunday’s football banquet. The two have a combined 62 years coaching experience on the OHS staff. Both will continue to work in the district.
An OHS grad, Wanous joined the staff 30 years ago. Coach Jeff Williams said, “We lucked into him because he was working on his master’s degree and needed to do a master’s internship. We were able to grab him and get him involved in the coaching staff. Then an English job opened up, and he immediately got it.”
Wanous became the offensive line coach in the late 1990s. “So he’s been running the offensive line with coach [Marc] Wiese basically ever since…From the offensive standpoint, he’s been my right-hand man for 25 years,” Williams said.
“I want to thank the coaches,” said Wanous. “There is a special fraternity of brothers that goes with football coaching…Through all of the wet socks, through all of the cold fingers, through all of the sunburns, through all of the ups and downs, and championships. We’ve gone through an awful lot together.”
“As an Owatonna graduate and a person who has worn the blue jersey, it’s an absolute honor to give back to a community that gave me so much. And I’m not leaving the community. Life is great. But I do have one thing to say, and that’s beat Mayo.”
Wanous played on the 1982 Prep Bowl team that was a state runner-up and played at Concordia-Moorhead. He became a Dean of Students this year, in addition to teaching English classes and was the head OHS baseball coach for a number of years.
Stelter joined the staff 32 years ago and worked primarily at the sophomore/b-squad level. “I’ve had just a fantastic experience,” he said. "To all the coaches that I’ve coached with the entire time that I’ve been here. Shoot. Half of these guys played for me as b-squaders. You are absolutely my best friends in the world, and I know that Owatonna football is in great hands with the younger people. So, carry the torch forward.”
He thanked his wife Adele. “For putting up with all of this, all of the times I was gone on Thursday night and Friday night and Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon because they would always switch our b-squad games around…Thank you for keeping everything at home going and running and raising four wonderful kids while I was gone.”
“He did such a phenomenal job with those guys,” Williams said. “Coach Stelter did such a great job of motivating those kids over the years. And got to finish out his career here as our defensive line coach and did a great job with that as well.”
Stelter will continue to coach the boys’ track team. He is a math teacher in the district. The Huskies won three state titles and were runner-up twice with nine section titles during their time. Both coaches received standing ovations while embracing Williams.