Darek Smith played linebacker on his dad’s state champion football team at Bartow and went on to a college career at Illinois State.

But, about those pants.

Smith said the tiger stripes were worn out of necessity, not as a 1990s fashion statement.

“We didn’t have any money, our budget was near zero,” he said. “I found those pants at an outlet center. Zumas. They were big back then. Our parents bought enough for the team. At first our kids were saying there was no way they were wearing them, that teams would make fun of them. I told them that if they lost, they would get made fun of, but if they won, nobody would say anything.”

So, the Lady Bulldogs won. They went to the state tournament for the first time during the 1990-91 season, when Dana Smith was a freshman, and they kept going back until they won the state championship in Lakeland.

St. Cloud didn’t just win, it demolished regular-season opponents by 80, 90 or 100 points, which is why some coaches didn’t like Smith.

Smith defended his tactics, saying that his girls spent their summers playing at camps and developing their skills. If teams didn’t want to get beat by 100 points, Smith said then, then they should up their game.

Smith also emphasized academics before it became fashionable.

“Our GPA on the championship team was 3.75,” he said.

The Bulldogs football program under Smith was not so dominant, but it was good enough to beat OHS three times in six tries under Smith, including 12-7 during his first season in 1984.

Smith had the Bulldogs, with eventual FSU running back back Tiger McMillon in the backfield, ranked No. 2 in the state during the 1989 season before defending state champion Avon Park knocked them out in the first round of the playoffs.

Smith remembers the 1989 Osceola-St. Cloud football game when St. Cloud was 9-0 and the stands were full at the old Silver Spurs outdoor arena.

“We did a $36,000 gate that night, and that was at $3 a ticket,” former OHS Athletic Director Mal Harpell said. “That’s not counting the people climbing over the gates. There was 12,000 there, easy.”

The Kowboys, with two eventual Division I defensive backs in Carlton Pouncy and Tito Paul, handled the Bulldogs that night, but the thrill and excitement of coaching in big games like that one is what made Smith’s pulse race, he said.

“It was a little different, then. When I came here, there were two high schools, St. Cloud and Osceola. Gateway hired my assistant, Doug Peacock, when it opened (in 1985),” he said. “It was a great time for us, a lot of fun. And, it was exactly what we wanted, a great place to raise our kids.”

One reason for Smith’s extended success is that he never lacked for confidence.

He was sure Bartow would beat Bolles in 1996 despite the Jacksonville school’s national ranking.

“They weren’t the best team we played that year,” Smith said, as his wife nodded in agreement. “We had to go to Belle Glade the week before that. They had us park the buses on the tennis court, and it was surrounded by a fence. They told us they could only guarantee our safety there, on the field, and in the locker room.”

Even though Smith was named the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year four times, three for basketball, he resigned in 1997 to join Riddell.

He is the first Riddell rep in the Southeast to record $1 million in annual sales.

Danny Rea and Bonnie Smith now reside in Polk County, near Bartow, but neither is likely to coach again. Bonnie Smith was a youth football coach in St. Cloud and, according to Danny Rea, is as knowledgeable about the sport as any coach.

The couple now has three grandchildren to dote upon.

“I do get the urge every now and then, but it takes such an enormous commitment of time and effort that I don’t think I could do that again,” he said.

But, Smith said, he and Bonnie fondly remember their time at St. Cloud.

“We’ll always consider it home. We met so many great people here and we have a lot of great memories,” he said. “And, it’s the same with our kids. Dana wants a new vehicle, and you know what she wants? A Ford F-150 pickup. She’s always going to be from Osceola County.”

But, Dana, who works for the NFL’s Jaguars, may pass on the tiger-striped upholstery.