30 years after coaching his last football game on the North Shelby sideline, Kent O’Laughlin returns to lead the Raiders for the 2025 season. It comes after the sudden departure of Josh Klusmeyer (see our previous story), who had accepted the job in the offseason when NEMOPressbox Football Coach of the Year David Stuckey retired.
O’Laughlin coached football at North Shelby in 1994 and 1995 and guided Raider teams to the quarterfinals, before losses to Tarkio and Wellington-Napoleon.
Prior to North Shelby, O’Laughlin coached against the Raiders while leading Paris Football. He has also coached football teams at Mexico, Palmyra, Marceline and South Shelby. He led the Cardinals to the 2006 state championship.
O’Laughlin’s son, Aaron, will join him on the North Shelby staff. Aaron is the principal at Marion County and the Mustangs are now a co-op with North Shelby in football. Scott Gaines and Ray Bacon remain from the staff that led the Raiders to the Show-Me Bowl last season where they lost to Archie.
Here is the full interview Kent O’Laughlin:
