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(KMAland) -- The KMA Sports Hall of Fame turns its attention to honoring some of the great teams of the past.

Today, the 2022 KMA Sports Hall of Fame class welcomes the 1992 state football champions from Bedford. The Bulldogs overcame an early-season loss to Treynor to run through the rest of Class A on their way to the school’s only state football title.

“It was a team that got the whole town behind them,” assistant coach Rod Willets told KMA Sports. “Everyone was backing them. They had this mantra – the best kept secret in Iowa. They used that to motivate the team, and it seemed to work.”

Willets coached the junior varsity team while the late KMA Sports Hall of Fame coach Bob McCoy teamed with another late legend in Max Dougherty as co-head coaches of the eventual champions.

“They each had unique styles,” Willets said. “Each of them had their really strong points, and when they got together they brought out the best of each other. There was competition between them to see who was going to do the better job, and I think it made the team a lot stronger.”

Bedford opened the season with wins over Lenox (29-14), East Union (54-7) and Tarkio (27-0), but in game four they were upset by a solid Treynor team by a 20-19 score.

“After that game, our kids took every game a little bit more serious,” Willets said.

They followed with a win over Villisca (27-14) and took down undefeated South Page (21-14) in week six. Wins over Farragut (66-12), Essex (20-6) and Stanton (43-8) rounded out the regular season. The Bulldogs knocked off Nishna Valley, 28-13, in the opening round of the playoffs and then qualified for the Dome with a state quarterfinal win over state power Madrid by a 28-13 score.

Awaiting Bedford in that state semifinal was Gehlen Catholic out of LeMars – another Class A power at the time. That was a one-point win that came down to a missed field goal by Gehlen at the buzzer. The championship was all Bulldogs in a 33-0 win over Postville.

“We beat two powerhouses in Madrid and Gehlen,” Willets said. “Gehlen thought they made (the field goal), but we knew they missed it. Then we went on and got right on top of Postville, and it turned out to be a lot easier game than what it probably should have been.”

The 1992 team was filled with All-State players with Neil Scroggie, Todd Peach and Rob Ambrose all earning first team honors. Other All-State honors went to Scott Jobe and Marvin Klaken during the 1992 season. Brian Stamps was yet another that made major contributions to the 1992 team and was an all-state pick in 1993.

“When we got ready to play a football game, I thought we had the two best players on the field,” Willets added. “Rob Ambrose was a fantastic quarterback. He could run, and he could throw, although we didn’t throw very much. He was fast and elusive, and he knew the game of football. The other one was Todd Peach. He was an animal on the offensive and defensive line. Those two guys were seniors and were tremendous leaders.”

Bedford would go on to major success in the years to come with the next eight teams all qualifying for the playoffs. Coach Willets believes the ’92 squad had a hand in all of that success.

“They started it,” Willets said. “For years and years, everybody wanted to participate in football and bring another state championship to Bedford. It established us as a football power for a number of years.”

The 1992 champs are the first Bedford team to be honored in the KMA Sports Hall of Fame. Along with the rest of the 2022 class, Bedford will be honored on Saturday, October 22nd at Shenandoah’s Gladys Wirsig-Jones Auditorium.

Listen to the full interview with Willets in the audio file below.

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