[1] As a player, Boner spent two seasons at SDSM&T before transferring to South Dakota State University (SDSU).

At SDSU he was the leading rusher (497 yards) on the 1962 team that tied for the North Central Conference title.

Boner started his coaching career as an assistant football and basketball coach at Rapid City High School (now Rapid City Central High School) in 1965.

In 1969, he became the first head football coach at the new Rapid City Stevens High School, guiding the Raiders to a 6–3 record.

He was among the first inductees of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Sports Hall of Fame in 2004,[3] and was posthumously inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.