Ben Scharnberg inducted into Fox Sports Hall of Fame

Atlanta legendary coach Ben Scharnberg was inducted into the Fox Sports Texarkana Hall of Fame, Aug. 26.

Coach Scharnberg was introduced by KPYN/ KKTK owner Bob Delgiorno who hosted the event at the Mighty Crab in Texarkana.

Along with this honor Scharnberg is also in the Kerrville Tivy Hall of Fame and the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor.

Scharnberg made his way to Atlanta High School from Boling, which is southeast of Houston, in the spring of 1988.

In his first year as Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Scharnberg turned around a 1-9 program from the previous season and took the Rabbs to an 8-2 record.

Back then only one team went to the playoffs. In his third season at the helm of the Rabbit Express Scharnberg led Atlanta into the playoffs for the first time since the 1983 season.

The very next year in 1990 the Rabbs went 10-0 and undefeated in district play for the first time since 1978.

In 1994 the Rabbits lost the first two games of the season and then reeled off 13 consecutive wins, which included the “Game of the Century” against Jefferson, en route to the school’s first state football appearance.

The Rabbs lost to a tough Sealy team in the 1994, 3A title game but did win it all in the 2003, 3A title game with a 34-0 win over Marlin.

In his Atlanta coaching career Scharnberg was 149-82-2 and overall was 172-90-3.

His honors and accolades are numerous and include being named District Coach of the Year 11 times, securing a State title, a State appearance, three Area championships, 14 District championships, 11 Bi-District championships and 17 years in the playoffs.

As an AD he oversaw a program from one end of the spectrum to the other that sealed state championships (five state track titles and one baseball state championship) and countless district championships (notably 24 consecutive championships in track and close to 20 consecutive in cross country).

Scharnberg’s 1990-1999 decade has been the most successful in school history as he compiled an 82-35-2 record.

He led the Rabbs to undefeated seasons in 1991 and 2001 which are two of the seven in AHS history.

After a long, successful 20 years Coach Scharnberg retired in 2007.

Scharnberg had this to say about the newest honor. “For all that I’ve been blessed to receive over my career I first give recognition to the Lord Jesus, my parents George and Molly Scharnberg, my wife Jana, children Sarah and Stuart, and a host of coaches, teachers, board members, administrators, sponsors, UIL teachers, band directors and more. I had plenty of support along the way,” Scharnberg said. “My parents instilled in us from a young age to work hard and have a great work ethic. I also want to thank my sisters who helped me with my speed as I tried my best to run away from them and toughening me up when they picked on me.”

“Of course you can’t dismiss the many great student-athletes that made their way through Atlanta High School,” Scharnberg added. “You know my dad taught me that in coaching you do more than teach them sports skills, you teach them things that will carry them on to becoming great, upstanding citizens. Teaching kids the facts of life made it all worthwhile and when you do that winning takes care of itself.”

“When I took the Atlanta job I told the board I was an AD first and head coach second,” Scharnberg remarked. “I wanted all sports and the athletes that played them to be successful. My best memories over 46 years of hard work was the lives I impacted and the kids I helped influence to become good Christians and good citizens. That should still be our goal.”

“The athletes I had when I first arrived were hungry to be successful and they bought in to our philosophy,” Scharnberg said. “We had great communication from coaches to athletes and we established unbelievable pride. If you look at overall team wins and championships in both sports and academics in the past 30 years Atlanta is near the top in many categories. We won the Dodge Lone Star Award for UIL in 2003 which means across the board we were the best 3A school in the state which is a great honor in itself. We had missed out on it several times before my just a couple of places or runner-ups, but we had great UIL teachers and a great staff from educators to coaches. We had plenty of support from the community and school district. Without that it would be hard to have accomplished all we did.”

“You know as much as everyone talks about talent, as an AD I’d rather have had someone with heart, a great work ethic and a great attitude over talent,” Scharnberg said. “I didn’t get into coaching for awards. I got into coaching to help bring up kids to be good citizens after high school and I think I did that.”