Iowa Hall of Fame Inductees

As  head coach of the Bulldogs, success occurred both quickly and often for the late  Merrit Parsons.  In the course of his 12-season tenure, Parsons not only  compiled an overall record of 66-34-5, but also won 5 conference championships  in 1957, ’58, ’59, ’60, and ’66.  As well, his 1960 squad was named by the U.P.I. as the “Mythical State Champions of Iowa.”   

In 1957 Coach Parsons was named the Quad Cities  "Coach of the Year" and from 1958-60, his Bulldogs compiled an impressive record  of 25-0-1 which also marked the first of four historical Bulldog winning  streaks.  He was named the “Coach of the Year” in 1960 by the Des Moines  Register and in 1966, his final season before becoming the Assistant  Superintendent of Bettendorf Community Schools, Parsons led the Bulldogs to an  8-0 record while winning the Little 6 Conference.  As well, before the  implementation of the Iowa Football playoff system, teams were ranked state-wide  and such that, his 1958 and 1959 teams were #10 and #12, respectively, by the Iowa  Daily Press Association while his 1966 team was #4 by the Des Moines  Register.

Mr. Parsons passed  away in 1994.

Born  in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Merv Habenicht's success in football started early:  in  1952, he earned 4th Team All-State honors as a guard by the Iowa Daily Press  Association and later started at that same position at the Iowa State  Teacher's College (now known as the University of Northern Iowa) from where he  graduated in 1960.  He first worked at Bettendorf as an assistant sophomore  coach under Earl Page for four years.

Beginning in 1965, Habenicht then spent  the next five years as a varsity assistant under legendary Bettendorf coach  Merrit Parsons.  When Ray Oles became the new Bulldog coach in 1967, Habenicht  then asked to become the head sophomore coach to gain leadership experience.   Four years later, Habenicht became Bettendorf’s new head coach and from  1971-1999 and would not only make history, but also a dynasty.           
 

Habenicht’s accomplishments as Bettendorf’s head coach are unmatched in Class  4A.  For starters, he made fifteen total playoff appearances while winning five  state titles in 1981, ‘87, ‘88, 1991, and ’92. As well, he was the first coach  in Class 4A to win back-to-back championships—and he accomplished that feat  twice!  His other Bettendorf squads were also mainstays in the playoffs:  a  state runner-up in 1980, the Bulldogs also made four Semifinals (1989, 1994,  ‘98, ‘99), a Quarterfinal (1993), and four 1st Round appearances (1983, ’86,  ’95, ’96).  In 29 seasons, Habenicht compiled a record of 228-72-1 (with a 30-10  playoff record) while also winning nine (9) conference championships.

To add to  his legacy, Habenicht also coached three undefeated squads in 1987 (12-0), 1988  (13-0) and 1992 (13-0) while also earning two national rankings (#18 in 1988 and  #21 in 1992 by the L.A. Times).  As well, the 1989 squad was a “Team to  Watch” by USA Today.
 

During his tenure, the Bulldogs also had two extended winning streaks of 36  (1987-89) and 30 games (1991-93).  Married to the former Evelyn Halligan who  also supported Bettendorf squads by—among other things—attending practices, Merv  Habenicht will always be known for his intensity, quirky axioms (that  nonetheless were truths), and for the fact that he sincerely cared about his  players, fellow coaches, and teams.

Coach Habenicht earned several Conference and District  "Coach-of-the-Year" awards such as in 1988 and ‘89.  Also, he was the Des  Moines Register "Coach of the Year" in 1988 and earned the same honor in  1998 by the Iowa Football Coaches Association.  In 1998 Coach Habenicht was also  inducted into the Quad City Times "Hall of Fame" and in 2000 was the  Runner-up for the "Quad City Football Coach of the Century."  Habenicht also was  an assistant in the Shrine Bowl in 1981 and was the head coach of the All-Star  game in 1999.

Coach Habenicht was inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame on  Friday, November 13, 1987, Habenicht made the following statement after being awarded the Des Moines Register Coach-of-the-Year honor in 1988 and his words still ring  true today regarding both his legacy and character:            

 "This award reflects the hard work of my varsity assistants and great credit  should also be given to the sophomore and freshmen coaches whose efforts helped  to prepare our players. It also reflects the great backing we have received from  the Bettendorf School Administration, the Bettendorf Community in general, and  the love and support of my family. Finally, the greatest credit of all should be  given to the young men in our football program whose efforts on the field made  our ‘coaching’ a success."

Howard  (Hap) Peterson was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and moved to Bettendorf  at the age of ten.  An avid youth growing up, history would later prove that his  relocation from Illinois to Iowa was a significant one, for Peterson later  became a vital member on the 1980 squad that began the modern-day ascent of the  BHS Football program.

A two-sport athlete in football and wrestling, Peterson specialized in the  takedown regardless of whether it was a running back or fellow heavyweight  contender.  As well, he was a true student of the both sports and cites high  school coaches John Lavelle, Randy Scott, Paul Castro, Frank Freeman, Gary  Hirsch, and Ron Eggers as the coaches who mentored him throughout his high  school career.

Peterson—humble despite all of his accomplishments—also feels that much of his  success derived from the fact that he grew up with some extremely competitive  friends:  Wayne Perkins, Jeff Stelk, Al Tudeen, Tom Roberts, Randy Holcomb, John  Slavens, Todd Uhde, and Steve Reindell (to name but a few of the great players  in BHS history).  However, it was from his mentor-coaches who taught him what  many Bulldog players have eventually discovered:  "Winning is a process, not  an event, and it is a process you have to learn to perfect."

Elected co-captain by his teammates, Peterson calls this "one of the greatest  honors I received as a Bulldog" along with his being named as a 1st Team  All-State defensive lineman.  As a senior, Peterson helped lead the Bulldogs to  an 11-1 record and a 2nd place finish in Class 4A; while his greatest sports  thrill was watching fellow teammate Wayne Perkins block a Dubuque Hempstead field goal attempt in overtime play that allowed the Bulldogs to advance to the  Semifinals, his worst experience was losing to the Newton Cardinals in the  championship game.

However, as a wrestler, Hap did become a state champion when  he won the Class 3A Heavyweight Division as a senior while finishing the season  with a 30-0 record.

Successful in two different venues, Peterson chose football and signed with the up-and-coming Iowa Hawkeyes led by legendary coach Hayden Fry; the process of  winning—and success—that Peterson had learned as a Bulldog was also utilized as a Hawkeye:  during his senior year at Iowa in 1985,

Peterson was not only  elected as a co-captain by his teammates, but also earned 1st Team All-Big 10  honors as a noseguard for the Hawkeyes who finished the season with a 10-2  record after winning the Big 10 Conference and playing in the Rose Bowl.   Peterson also earned Honorable Mention All-American Honors by the Associated  Press.

Peterson was the first Bulldog player to be inducted into the Iowa High School  Football Hall of Fame on Friday, November 17, 1995, but considers his greatest life accomplishment is his  marriage to his wife, Barb, and their four children. Peterson currently resides  in Iowa City where he is a Regional Manager for Advanced Bionics Corporation.

 Greg  Brown’s brilliant four-sport prep career was filled with bouncing balls,  swinging bats, jumping hurdles, and—most importantly—touchdowns. During his  1985-89 career as a Bulldog, Brown collected plenty of honors and memories in  every sport he played; however, it was his exploits on the football field that  helped solidify Bettendorf’s place as an elite 4A program.
 

There have been many great Bettendorf ball carriers and Brown is unquestionably  one of them.  As a junior, he led the Bulldogs to a perfect 12-0 season en route  to winning the Class 4A state championship with a 7-6 victory over West Des  Moines Dowling.  Brown earned 2nd team All-State running back honors while  leading all Class 4A rushers in ’87 with 1,515 yards along with 26 touchdowns.   During his senior year as a team-elected co-captain, Brown again led the  #1-ranked Bulldogs through the season undefeated—this time collecting a  school-record 13 wins—as the Dawgs won a second-consecutive Class 4A state title  with their 28-12 victory over the Newton Cardinals. Incidentally, this latter  feat—winning the 1987 and ’88 titles in a row—was the first time in 4A history  that a school won back-to-back titles.
 

Brown’s senior campaign also earned him honors such as “Iowa Back of the Year”  by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta while simultaneously being named to the  1st Team All-State Elite squad as a running back who rushed for 1,722 yards and  26 touchdowns; his ’88 squad also earned a national ranking of #18 by the L.A. Times.  In total, Greg Brown amassed 3,237 yards and 52 touchdowns  during his final two years as a Bulldog—which still ranks second and third,  respectively, in those statistical categories.       
 

The soft-spoken Brown—although pursued by major colleges such as the University  of Iowa and Nebraska to play football—initially elected to pursue his dream of  playing basketball in college. However, the 1989 Quad City Times “Athlete  of the Year” eventually found his way back onto the gridiron and was a four-year  letterwinner and two-year starter for the Southern Illinois Salukis during the  1990-93 seasons.   
 

Brown, who was inducted into the Iowa Football Players Hall of Fame on Friday,  November 19, 2004, became only the second Bettendorf player inducted into the Iowa High  School Football Hall of Fame—ironically, in front of a Bettendorf crowd  witnessing the 2004 Bulldogs claim the school’s sixth state championship.  After  receiving his plaque at midfield during the halftime induction ceremony, Brown  received a loud ovation and said, “It’s hard to believe these kids that are  playing for the state title were all babies when I was playing for one.”   Brown currently lives in Houston, Texas, where he teaches and coaches. 

Ask  the question, “Who is the best running back in Iowa high school history?” and  more often than not the name Tavian Banks is uttered.  Simply put, Tavian’s prep  football career was spectacular and more than fifteen years after it ended, his  exploits on the field are still the topic of conversation.

Tavian’s career as a Bulldog began fast and furious:   as a 9th grader in 1989, he started on the 10th grade  squad and helped lead them to a 9-0 record.  Then—as the Bulldog varsity squad  was attempting to win their third-consecutive state title in the midst of a  36-game winning streak—Tavian was moved up to the varsity and his very first  play at that level occurred in the Semifinal game against the Linn-Mar Lions  when he blew past a senior, all-state Lion’s player to catch a 24-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Matt Ulrich to put the Bulldogs up, 14-6.  

Unfortunately, a  bogus holding penalty negated the touchdown and the Bulldogs eventually lost the  game to end both their winning streak and state title bid.  However, the point  had been made for all future opponents of Banks and the Bulldogs:  “Beware!” as  it was obvious he was going to be a special player.

As a sophomore in 1990,  Banks suffered a season-ending injury in the opening game against Burlington  when his leg was severely broken.  Although the Bulldogs won, 17-12, to win  their 27th consecutive M.A.C. contest, the loss of Tavian was  immeasurable as the Bulldogs eventually finished the season 5-4 and failed to  qualify for the playoffs for the first time in five years.  However, in 1991,  Banks returned full-speed and led the Bulldogs to an 11-2 record that was capped  by a 6-0 victory over Sioux City Heelan in the state championship game in which  his 68-yard touchdown run was the difference.

For season totals, Banks rushed  for a new school rushing record of 1,905 yards and 32 touchdowns and his 11.2  average per carry that season still is a jaw-dropper.  A 1st Team  All-State selection in 1991, Banks was a threat anytime he touched the ball and  was proven by his return of punts (7 for 163 yards, 2 TDs, 22.2 average) and  kickoffs (7 for 355 yards, 3 TDs, 50.7 average).

Bank’s senior season in  1992 witnessed the Bulldogs go 13-0 and again win their second consecutive state  championship—which made the Bulldogs not just the first team in Class 4A win  back-to-back titles as they had done in 1987 and ’88, but also the first team to  do it twice.  During the regular season Bettendorf had been virtually  unstoppable as proven by their 337-49 points scored/allowed ratio. 

However, in  the early rounds of the playoffs, the Bulldogs had a tougher time as opponents  keyed on Banks and probably the best Iowa prep game ever played was in the  Quarterfinals when Bettendorf faced off against Iowa City High—a game which is  now known as the “Banks vs. Dwight” contest.  Bettendorf won, 31-28, and two  games later in the state championship against West Des Moines Valley, Bettendorf  rushed for a net total of 368 yards while Banks rushed for 250 yards—both still  records in 4A—on the way to a 41-0 victory.

In 1992, Tavian rushed  for a total of 2,394 yards and 42 touchdowns for yet another 11.2 average per  carry and also again returned punts (5 for 135 yards, 1 TD, 27.0 average) and  kickoffs (5 for 216 yards, 1 TD, 43.2 average.

As well, dating back to the  seventh game of the 1991 season, he helped Bettendorf win 20-consecutive games.  Tavian was also again selected as a  1st Team All-State running back  along with being named as both a Parade All-American and the High School  Football Yearbook “Player of the Year.”  Finally, his 1992 squad was ranked #21  in the nation by the L.A. Times and his grand totals in high school were  4,317 rushing yards and 75 touchdowns.  Tavian was also an outstanding soccer  player and was named the “Gatorade Player of the Year” three times.

Tavian then played  football for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1994-97 and during his senior year in 1997,  rushed for a school record 1,691 yards that stood until the 2008 season.   Against Tulsa in the second game, he rushed for 314 yards—still a school record  for most rushing yards in a game—and at the end of his senior campaign was named  a 2nd Team All-American by Football News.  With his blazing  speed and receiving capabilities, Tavian was then drafted by the Jacksonville  Jaguars in the 4th round of the 1998 NFL Draft.  After a promising start to the  1999 season, Tavian suffered a major knee injury and missed over two years due  to surgery and rehab.

He then attempted a comeback with the New Orleans Saints  in 2002 and was actually named to the practice squad in 2003 before being waived  by the Saints in 2004 due to the fact that his knee never fully recovered from  the initial injury.

Banks returned to the college ranks when he served as assistant running backs  coach for the Louisville Cardinals in 2006, but left after one season when  Louisville’s head coach, Bobby Petrinio, became the new head coach for the  Atlanta Falcons.  Currently, Tavian is the Sports Performance Director with  Velocity Sports Performance in Naperville,   Illinois.  Tavian was inducted into  the Iowa Football Players Hall of Fame on Friday, November 21, 2008.

 Born  and raised in Avoca (IA), Randy Scott joined the Bettendorf program in 1976  after starring at center for the Northern Iowa Panthers and served as an  assistant coach under Merv Habenicht for 24 seasons before assuming head  coaching duties in 2000.  As a trusted assistant on Habenicht's staff,  Coach Scott molded offensive units that won 5 of 6 state title games in a span  of 13 years including two different sets of back-to-back titles in 1987-1988 and  in 1991-92; for his efforts and diligence, Scott was named the Iowa Football  Coaches Association "Assistant Coach of the Year" in 1993.

In his inaugural season as head coach, Scott led the  Bulldogs to the 4A state title game where they were runners-up and again in 2002  before claiming the title in 2004 and 2007; both the 2004 and 2007 squads also  finished the season with records of 13-0 (only the fourth and fifth teams in  school history to go undefeated since the inception of the Iowa football  playoffs in 1972) and while the 2004 team earned national rankings of #25 by Prep Nation 101 and #32 by Student Sports, the 2007 team was ranked #30 by MaxPreps while also being designated as the "Best Team in Iowa" by  Sports Illustrated.

In just 8 short seasons under Scott's tutelage,  44 players earned All-State honors while his teams compiled a record of 85-12—an  incredible 87.6% winning percentage—which  makes him the 2nd winningest coach in Bettendorf history.  Coach Scott also won  4 conference titles while amassing a record of 66-6 in conference play and under  his direction, the Bulldogs also qualified for the 4A playoffs 8 consecutive  times while collecting 19 wins in 25 games.  Coach Scott was honored with  several "Coach of the Year" honors, most notably by the M.A.C. (2004, '07) and  Iowa Football Coaches Association ('04) while also being named the "Southeast  District Coach of the Year" in 2000 and 2004.  Although Scott, who earned the  honor of being named "Teacher of the Year" in 1996, may be retired from  coaching, he still presents at clinics today.

Coach Scott was inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame on Friday,  November 19th, 2010, and joins former Bettendorf head coaches Merritt Parsons  (1955-66) and Habenicht (1971-99) in the Hall of Fame which makes Bettendorf one  of the elite prep football programs in the State of Iowa with three different  head coaches in the Hall of Fame. 

  Two-time all-state linebacker who led Bettendorf to the 2004 Class 4A  championship. Graduated with 344 career tackles, 17 sacks, and also won  state title in soccer and qualified for state track. Went on to play at  University of Iowa, captain of Orange Bowl team in 2010 and two-time  All-Big Ten linebacker. Played four years in NFL with Indianapolis  Colts, finished fourth in NFL in tackles in 2011.