I remember them playing Berkeley up there, and Berkeley was a public school power in all sports in the 70's. Cordova won 20-14, and it wasn't as close as the final score. Wasn't alot of big time matchups with out of area schools in those days. Some guys who played for Berkeley told me about after it happened. They were duly impressed. I learned that Cordova had a pretty impressive weight training program, way before most other high school programs
Pretty sure they went to Ohio and play Moeller at a time that those national games rarely happened
Do you know what year Cordova played Moeller? I am skeptical if that game ever happened, although I am sure there was plenty of talk since that '75 Cordova team was one of the Top Calif teams of the decade.
Rod Connors! Best athlete I saw in high school. As a track athlete he was a couple of years behind me. He could high jump. Long jump. A 45 second quarter mile. He played football. But I knew him as a track guy. The last I heard of him. He was returning kicks for USC.
I don’t remember the year but I believe it was mid to late 70s when Faust was still there
They also were a feeder school from Mather Air Force base . Thus getting transfers before transfers were a thing . When the base closed the Cordova level of dominance dropped in all sports
Coach I don’t believe people sat in those stands (like you and I) and witnessed what we witnessed. He was a prime time receiver, shutdown corner, and incredible return man. The dude was showtime!
Much like Highlands got all the McClellan AFB kids.....and when it closed....not transfers.
Yes, had a cousin who's family was stationed at Mather in the 70s, early 80s. He played with the youngest of the Wilhite brothers, Kevin. Mather kept Cordova a powerhouse. There was nothing but Mather in Rancho Cordova in those days.. We'd go up there to visit my Dad's Air Force buddies ( Travis also) nothing for kids to do but practice and work out
Man Larry is another one that doesn’t get his just due. I wish he would have been on that 2014 Pacer team(🥲), but he absolutely lit the field up at Inderkum! I definitely made my way over to a couple of games! You guys did an exceptional job of showcasing his talents!
Nice research Thunder, appreciate it. Did they have the scores/results from Cordova's out of area games?
You have to know champ to get it!
I just thought it was funny, going by that term for describing a football team 😂
TR
The 75 Cordova team had the likes of Scott Jenner at QB and a speedy WR named Kenny Bowles and the Venable bros RB Max and LB Darell.Coach Miller and Coach Tom Johnson coached the North in the annual Optimist All Star game at Hughes Stadium vs the South that yr who were led by no other than legendary Cordova coach Dewey Guerra…that was the closest thing to having a game between Cordova vs Placer…..the North won convincingly!KCRA Channel 3 news sports host Pete Liebengood said “The only way Placer beats Cordova is if Cordova wears ankle weights and boxing gloves”,we lol.The 75 Placer team was a well oiled “AA” machine,the team Cordova played (Highland Scots) in the finals of the City Championship LARGE Schools (the following yr they became AAA) and were led by all world rb Joe Figures was the same team Placer beat in North Highlands in preseason….Placer vs Cordova in 75 would have been really fun to watch!
TR and i once talked at a D4 Championship between Placer and Cap Christian!😂😂
WWHS44….he was a tremendous runner,our Defense that night played him tough,he was difficult to coral,our lb’s had him running sideline to sideline for what seemed 30-40 yds but he never really gained much up field that night to really hurt us and that was the plan and it worked.But he was a serious threat whenever he had the ball.👍🏻👍🏻
Would be nice to see the other SFL teams travel out of the area to play some of the EBAL, WCAL teams in non-league. What say Oak Ridge, Rocklin, Del Oro, Granite Bay?
I remember Granite Bay, Del Oro, and Oak Ridge scheduling good non league opponents over the years. I think GB had Pitt this past season. Have seen Del Oro have a home and home vs DeLaSalle some years before. Don't know too much about Rocklin's non league history. I'm sure OR has had some nice nonleague scheduling over the years. Can't remember specifically who the opponents were though.
I seem to remember Del Oro traveling to Vegas to play Bishop Gorman a number of years back. Bishop Gorman was a very good team at that time, but hadn’t crossed the threshold into National title contender at that point.
Yes, games out of the immediate area were rare back then. As a matter of curiosity I checked the schedules for Turlock from 1959 to 1980, a total of 245 games. During that time the only games against out of the area teams were Bellarmine, San Joaquin Memorial, Sequoia, Palo Alto, San Ramon (twice). Reno (twice), Lynbrook, and Hanford. Some of those years the league they were in had 10 teams so there was only one non-conference game. There was never more than 3 non-conference games, and they were not in any section playoffs. I specifically looked at those years but since then out-of-section games were still very rare, with a number of games against Fresno area teams, Reno again, Monterey and Palma, and Clayton Valley and Freedom. Even Sacramento area regular season games, although still in the section, were rare: Grant, McClatchy, Cordova, and just recently Rocklin and Folsom. They've never played Central Catholic, and I would like to see that.
Sanchez put DO on the schedule for his next season at Cal High in the 2009 "Capitol Classic." Then the offer "he couldn't refuse " from BG. The previous year ('08) Sanchez took Cal up to Seattle to face Bellevue, the team that ended the long Lad streak at deLa. Sanchez didn't blink an eye when the BVAL was tired of losing to Sparta, and he with no BS EBAL schools openly welcomed the private.
