THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Ranells' run was all about the students, players and participation

Bob Ranells is the ultimate people person. 

It's not often that the "white hat" — or head referee in football — follows a play to the sideline, just to shake hands and say hello. 

Well, Bob did it. 

And it made my night. 

RANELLS, who served as a superintendent of schools, including a 14-year since as the superintendent of the Wallace School District, will be inducted into the Idaho High School Activities Association Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the Boise Centre in downtown Boise. 

Ranells, originally from Arkansas, moved to Idaho as a kid, graduating from Mountain Home High and earning his Bachelor's and Master's Degree from Idaho State University in Pocatello. He earned his Education Specialist and Doctorate from the University of Idaho. 

"One of the things I remember as a kid is playing football and catching a touchdown pass in the seventh grade," Ranells said. "The school's head football coach was standing there and told me that I was going to play for him. At that point, I thought my life meant something, but I never got to play for him. We ended up moving to Idaho before I got to high school." 

Ranells broke into coaching as an assistant football and basketball coach at Wendell High. 

"We won three straight league titles and played for the state title each year, but played Homedale in the title game each year," Ranells said. "That was a really fun experience and it opened the door to come to Nampa to become an athletic director and assistant coach." 

Ranells also had stops in Rimrock for eight years, Rigby and then Grand Coulee High in Washington. 

"Wendell was a really neat place," Ranells said. "They'd just won a state title in basketball and were kings of the valley. And we really had fun with that group. It was a real eye-opener for me. The neat thing about Wendell in football was that we had the state champion in the 100-meter dash as our tailback and the state champion in the 200 as a fullback. So we could anything we wanted with the running game." 

WHEN RANELLS arrived in Wallace in 2006, it was again eye-opening. 

"It's a mining culture there," Ranells said. "With mining, you couldn't be absent or tardy, or the crew just doesn't work. We never had any issues with the kids being absent. It was a great situation there." 

Four days into his stint at Wallace, Ranells dealt with his first issue. 

"I was there three or four days and Dave Rounds comes into my office and tells me we've got a problem," Ranells said. "Our offensive coordinator quit this morning and we don't have someone to replace him." 

So, Bob did. 

"I'd seen one 8-man football game in my life at that time," Ranells said. "But I said, 'heck yes' I'll do it. I met with the kids the night before the season started. I told them I'd played 11-man football in high school and college, and coached before, but had never experienced anything like that before. The players told me not to worry because all you really need is a fast running back and a good blocker, and we've got both. And we might have lost one game and won the league each year." 

Corey Miller, a Wallace High alum, coached football and basketball at Mullan High before returning to his alma mater. 

"It's not very often that you've got the superintendent that's also the JV coach," Miller said. "On our road trips, he'd drive the bus. He was so involved with everything that most of the kids didn't think of him as a superintendent, but just as a coach or 'Doc.'"

A little secret about that offense, and how they were able to get plays in so quickly. 

"Those kids were so fabulous and I told the quarterback to call the plays," Ranells said. "If he had questions, I told him to call timeout and come ask me. But we had a great run in all of those things." 

AS AN official, Ranells has called 25 state championship games in either football, basketball or track and field, where he still is a referee at the state track and field meet in Middleton. 

"My enjoyment is the kids and coaches," Ranells said. "I just want the kids to be involved and just love football, basketball and track. The kids and coaches that I've worked with, you cross paths with them all the time. I don't know how many people I've passed that have grown up and it's neat to see them getting into coaching." 

"The cool thing about him was the relationships he can build with kids and adults," Miller said. "I haven't seen anything like it." 

Miller added that Ranells was often his playing partner at Shoshone Golf Course in Big Creek during the annual Babe Streeter Open. 

"I played a lot of golf with him," Miller said. "He's just a great guy to be around and really cared about the kids." 

Ranells will be inducted with former Timberlake and Lakeland High athletic director Tim Cronnelly and former Bonners Ferry athletic director Ted Reynolds on Tuesday. 

"It's kind of entertaining that we're all crossing paths over the years," said Ranells, whose wife, Mary Ann, was the principal at Silver Hills Elementary and also superintendent of the Lakeland School District before moving onto the West Ada School District. "I knew Tim when he was at Cascade High, then at Timberlake. Ted, he was at Bonners Ferry and then came to Middleton, and we just kept crossing paths. It's a great honor and recognition to have three guys with long experiences going in at the same time. To be considered is an honor. It's been a good run." 

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on 'X', formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.