Several Eastern League schools found themselves unable to access a favored playing site, by the San Diego Conquistadors.
Yes, those Q’s, the American Basketball Association professional team located here.
The preps, in keeping with years of tradition, thought Aztec Bowl was reserved for them for games Oct. 13, 20, and 27.
Trouble was those were the same nights the Q’s were playing at Peterson Gym, a few hundred yards away.
Since Peterson Gym and Aztec Bowl shared the same parking lot, San Diego State officials declared they would not allow prep football and pro basketball games to be held simultaneously.
Possibly contributing to the policy was that nearby College-area homeowners long had complained about traffic, vandalism, and other problems involving events at the venues.
Hoover, Patrick Henry, Crawford, Morse, and St. Augustine were forced to look elsewhere.
The basketballers were a few steps ahead of the apparently sonambulant city schools and made arrangements earlier. Grossmont College also snared some football dates.
“Everybody thought somebody was taking care of the contracts, but nobody did,” said a San Diego State spokesman.
San Diego Section commissioner Don Clarkson was blamed for the scheduling lapse.
Scheduling was Clarkson’s responsibility when he also held the post of Supervisor of Secondary athletics for the City Schools.
Clarkson said that he had retired from the supervising gig and that he had notified schools that they would have to make their own arrangements for game sites.
Eastern League athletic directors were contacted but claimed they never received such notification.
After some scrambling, swearing, and finger pointing the schools found alternate venues.
WHO WON FIGHT?
Sweetwater and Castle Park rolled in the dirt in a South Bay imbroglio that matched coaches who were close friends and college teammates.
That Dave Lay’s Red Devils defeated Gil Warren’s Trojans, 20-14, almost was forgotten in the frenzy of a mini riot by fans.
As Castle quarterback Don Bohnstein moved his team toward a game-leading touchdown in the fourth quarter, another of several skirmishes that had taken place in the stands spilled onto the track surrounding the Castle Park gridiron.
Will Watson of The San Diego Union estimated that as many as 200 persons were involved and that they had almost reached the end zone to which the Trojans were marching.
COPS ARE COMING!
Police were summoned and 13 squad cars and a helicopter responded, including three Highway Patrol vehicles and a police van.
Watson reported that the mob got closer to the end zone than the Trojans, who reached the eight-yard line before Bohnstein was sacked for a 13-yard loss.
The Red Devils’ Leroy Brown knocked out the Trojans with touchdown runs of 10, 38, and 70 yards and acquired a nickname.
“BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN”
“…the baddest man in the whole damn town…badder than old King Kong, and meaner than a junkyard dog…”
Legendary singer-songwriter Jim Croce’s recorded that classic around the time Brown was the baddest.
Opponents learned not to “tug on Superman’s cape….”
The 205-pounder teamed with Rudy Nanquil to give the National Citians a devastating running game, key to their 12-0 record and San Diego Section championship.
Sweetwater-Castle Park was the premier South Bay rivalry during the ’seventies. Warren and Lay, who played on Don Coryell’s first San Diego State teams from 1961-63, were 4-4-1 against each other from 1969-77.
DO YOUR THING, SON
Stalled at San Diego’s three-yard line, Crawford coach Bill Hall turned to offspring-kicker Dale Hall, who booted a 21-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining to give the Colts a 23-21 victory over San Diego.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Celebrities, no, but celebrity names, yes.
Bob Hope played tailback for Orange Glen. Cesar Romero was a wide receiver for Montgomery. Hilltop offensive lineman Billy Casper, Jr., was son of the champion golfer.
MORE SUCCESS IN NFL
Hoover’s 2-7 record was no fault of tight end William Gay, who went on to play at USC and was a second round draft choice of the Denver Broncos in 1978.
Gay came into the league as a tight end and even was a two-way player, tight end and defensive end, from 1979-88 with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
Gay had 44.5 sacks in his NFL career.
ELEVEN THOUSAND?
Sweetwater won its first playoff game, 32-27, over Patrick Henry before an overflow, standing-in-the-aisles, watching-from-the-outside crowd of 11,000 persons, according to writer John Nettles of The San Diego Union.
“It seemed like half of National City was there, plus a healthy number from San Carlos,” Nettles said of the mass of humans at Southwestern College.
No actual attendance figures were available (the Evening Tribune estimate was an overflowing 8,500), but all on hand witnessed postseason football at its best.
Sweetwater spotted Henry a 13-0, first-quarter lead but stormed back to go ahead, 24-13, at the half, then fought off the Patriots as Leroy Brown and Rudy Nanquil combined to rush for 314 yards.
Nanquil had 155 yards in 17 carries and scored on a 69-yard run, while Brown contributed 149 yards in 20 carries and scored on runs of 1, 1, 35, and 1 yard.
Leading, 32-27, Alan Gutzamer ended a last Henry threat, intercepting Scott Brisbin’s pass. Sweetwater ran out the last four minutes.
ANOTHER BIG TURNOUT
Eleven-thousand persons were on hand the next week at Aztec Bowl as Sweetwater edged Escondido, 14-13, in a battle of old Metropolitan League antagonists.
The game may have turned on a decision by Escondido coach Chick Embrey, whose team, having just gone ahead, 12-8, with 1:30 left in the third quarter, opted for a one-point conversion.
“I couldn’t believe it,”admitted Sweetwater coach Dave Lay. “I couldn’t figure it out.”
The Cougars became more vulnerable with only a five-point lead, which finally vanished when Brown scored from one yard with 6:47 left in the game.
“I blew it,” Embrey told Jack Williams of the Evening Tribune. “I wasn’t thinking. I guess my mind is getting old and clogged up.”
RUDY AND LEROY, AGAIN
Nanquil rushed for 187 yards and Brown for 136 on a soggy field as Sweetwater won its first championship by defeating Lincoln , 22-12, before 11,088 at San Diego Stadium.
Lincoln punted only once but lost three fumbles and had one pass intercepted.
“I was just happy as hell when I read in the papers at the beginning of the season we weren’t supposed to be good, “ said Lay, “because I really thought we could have a helluva team.”
The coach said the emergence of sophomore quarterback Ron Schraeder was key. “When he played super in a scrimmage against Oceanside I knew we could be good, but I never thought about 12-0.”
RED DEVILS READY
From the outset, Lay had positioned the Red Devils for their championship run.
“If we come through in certain areas, this could be our best team ever,” Lay told Will Watson on the eve of the season opener with Bonita Vista.
The Red Devils returned seven defensive starters, five offensive starters, and 19 players who started at least one game in 1971. They did it with speed and toughness, despite a defensive line that averaged only 168 pounds.
HORNETS BACK IN BUSINESS
Lincoln, picked fourth in the preseason, won its first Eastern League championship since 1965.
Wally Henry, who transferred from San Diego as a sophomore, scored 21 touchdowns in leading coach Earl Faison’s team to the finals.
Henry had touchdown runs of 80, 71, 67, 58, 57, 50, 65, and 38 yards, during the Hornets’ 9-3 season.
WALLY’S WORLD
Wally Henry’s exploits were followed by an outstanding career and a game-changing touchdown for UCLA in the 1976 Rose Bowl against Ohio State.
Henry played six seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL and earned a Pro Bowl invitation as a kick returner in 1979.
A throwback to the great running backs of decades past at San Diego High, Henry was destined to be selected to the all-time, all-San Diego prep team in 2012.
Faison was the American Football League’s rookie of the year in 1961 and was all-AFL from 1961-66. He was head coach at Lincoln from 1969-73 and then left coaching and had a long career in school administration.
SIX GOOD MEN
Francis Parker, La Jolla Country Day, and San Miguel moved from eight-man to six-man football.
The San Diego schools competed in their own league and played several other 6-man schools from a similar league in the CIF Southern Section.
The locals played each other twice and at least two of the Los Angeles-area schools.
WHERE’S OFFENSE?
A capacity crowd of 15,000 at Aztec Bowl went home scratching its head after the 12th annual Grossmont League carnival ended with a 3-0 score.
Santana’s Wes Hancock kicked a 24-yard field goal against Monte Vista with 30 seconds left in the first quarter. Santana was joined by Granite Hills, Grossmont, and El Capitan on the winning East.
The West was comprised of Helix, Mount Miguel, El Cajon Valley, and Monte Vista.
El Cajon Valley almost stole the show, controlling the ball for more than 11 minutes and 17 plays before short-circuiting with an interception on El Capitan’s 11-yard line.
MENOTTI MIFFED
Jack Menotti’s Madison Warhawks were the No. 1-ranked team in the County with an 8-0-1 record on the field but 6-2-1 legislatively.
A transfer from Kearny had played in two games in the middle of the season but was found to be scholastically ineligible.
Menotti self-reported his program’s “dreaded administrative glitch,” but the Warhawks still hoped to make the playoffs in a title-deciding Western League showdown against Kearny.
Kearny, trailing, 15-0, finally caught the Warhawks at 15-15, after Kearny coach Birt Slater opted for a one-point conversion instead of a two-point attempt and victory.
Tom Barnett was a first-year assistant coach at Kearny. He had replaced Menotti, who had gotten his coaching start at Kearny under Slater.
“Jack was livid after the game and told Birt that he couldn’t believe Birt kicked and didn’t go for two points,” said Barnett. “But Don Wadsworth told Birt that a tie was as good as a win for Kearny.”
ASSISTANT COVERED BASES FOR BIRT
Wadsworth was an assistant coach and valuable presence on the Kearny sideline, monitoring downs and distances, number of available time outs, clock management, and often calming the emotional Slater.
“Birt wasn’t too happy about going for the tie either,” said Barnett.
But kicking for the tie was the safe decision, giving Kearny a final, 4-1-1 league record.
Had Kearny gone for two and failed, Madison would have finished 4-1-1 in the league and gotten into the postseason. The Warhawks instead were 3-2-1 and fourth.
“All we needed was a tie,” said Slater. “If we had needed to win, who’s to say we wouldn’t have (tried for the more difficult two point conversion)?”
Kearny claimed its seventh successive Western League championship, but was knocked out of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, bowing at Vista, 13-12.
SLATER FIRES BACK
The Kearny coach was in a foul mood.
Slater thought game officials made two egregious calls against the Komets and that Vista coach Dick Haines was cracking wise after the Komets’ playoff loss.
Haines’s remarks were to the effect that North County coaches always shake hands after a game, but that San Diego coaches go around with their heads between their legs when they lose.
”I tried to find Haines after the game,” Slater told Jack Williams of the Evening Tribune. “Hell, he won the game. Why didn’t he look me up? He’s a bleep if he thinks I had my head between my legs.”
CIF TO MADISON: DROP DEAD
Madison still had hope before the playoffs, but the school in northeast Clairemont was doomed.
“All I can say a great injustice has been done,” said Menotti after the CIF board of managers rejected the No. 1-ranked Warhawks’ final appeal to be part of the eight-team eliminations.
Menotti lamented to Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune: “What they’ve shown is it doesn’t pay to be honest. I’ve cost these kids a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It’s my fault all this happened.”
“I think we need to take a look at our rules,” said Madison athletic director John Hannon. “This is 1972.”
Madison’s plea was based on “an inadvertent” error (dreaded administrative glitch) by an admissions secretary.
When the ineligible player transferred to Madison and turned out for football his transcript was mixed up with that of another student with the same last name, according to Hannon.
HE’D KICK FOR CRITTERS
La Jolla’s Rolf Benirschke was one of the Western League’s top scorers with 36 points, including eight field goals, more than any other kicker, but Bernirschke became better known as a San Diego Chargers icon.
Benirschke was a 12th-round draft choice of the Oakland Raiders out of the University of California at Davis and was claimed on waivers by the San Diego Chargers.
After a battle with ulcerative colitis that saw the entire community rally behind him with a record-breaking blood drive, Benirschke went on to finish an outstanding career with the Chargers.
Every field goal and point after kicked by Benirschke included a matching donation by Rolf to his charity, which he called “Kicks for Critters,” benefiting research at the San Diego Zoo.
QUICK KICKS
Kearny’s streak of 33 Western League games without a loss and 29 league wins in a row came to end in a 13-12, league opener defeat to University… Leroy Brown’s 171 points was 23 points shy of the County record of 194 by Oceanside’s C.R. Roberts in 1953…after losing its first 18 games, Montgomery won its first three in the school’s third season…the Aztecs finished with a 4-5 record…Escondido quarterback Dan Embrey is son of head coach Bob (Chick) Embrey…Herb Meyer of Oceanside also had a quarterback son, Dave Meyer…two seasons after 0-9, Mount Miguel posted a 7-2 regular-season record and made its first playoff appearance since 1961…compliments of Greg (Stats) Durrant: Castle Park, Granite Hills, and Oceanside each was 7-2 but failed to make the playoffs and each was led by a player destined for post-high school excellence…Castle’s John Fox eventually became a respected NFL head coach…Joe Roth of Granite Hills was an all-America quarterback at California-Berkeley before being struck down by cancer…Oceanside’s Joe Paopao quarterbacked more than 15 years in the Canadian League…all three played at area junior colleges, Fox at Mesa, Roth at Grossmont, and Paopao at Palomar…trailing Vista with 1:53 remaining, Lincoln marched 72 yards to score with 39 seconds left and edge the Panthers, 18-16, in a semifinals playoff before about 8,000 in Aztec Bowl,…Wally Henry made 13 yards by himself on a 17-yard pass play, spinning and breaking tackles, to get the Hornets to the three-yard line…Henry scored the winning touchdown two plays later….
How about wrestling 1972 El Cajon Valley high’s League champion wrestling team
Thanks, but I don’t have any information on that team.
These r my early golden years. The best. Because this is the best or was!
We all rememeber our high school years, even in our (mine) Golden years. Where did you attend high school?
Where is the roster and team picture of the 1972-3Grossmont College Griffins. It would be Joe Roth’s freshman year. There were some good athletes on that team.
Hi, Chuck, I cover only the high schools. It’s too bad that the late, and great, Joe Roth’s team at Granite Hills in 1971 was not very good.
Another Masterpiece.
Than you, Dean. It was a great season for the Red Devils.
Great football piece. How about a story on the Nettles family and all they accomplished in this town…
We’ve mentioned John Nettles a few times. There is a lot of athletic history in the Nettles family, starting with twin brothers Bill and Wayne, who played on Grossmont’s undefeated teams in the early 1930s.