1979 Football

The “Miracle Year” as former Coach Tom Caffrey refers to the 1979 Herald Football Team. This was a team that started off with a record of 1-3-1 in its first five games. “Things didn’t look good but the kids never gave up on themselves,” said Coach. They proceeded to go on a nine game win streak ending with a CIF Championship by defeating highly touted Mojave 40-14. It was a team that had a lot of character and a great blend of good offensive and defensive play.

 

The team really got hot in the playoffs. In the first playoff game they played Lutheran Laverne, the Arrowhead League Champions. They defeated them with a surprising aerial attack (168 yards) and a strong running attack that featured the inside running of FB Scott West and the outside running of John Catlett. The final score was 69-25.

 

The second round game was at Desert High. The Scorpions got stung by the Heralds 30-13. The highlights of the game were Tim Price’s first play of the game pass to Dave Jones of 70 yards, John Catlett’s outstanding run down the sidelines off a swing pass for 80 yards and the great Herald defense.

 

The semi-final game was a home game (La Mirada Stadium) against a very tough Aquinas High. When Aquinas came out on the field it tilted. They were huge. It was an exciting game won by the Heralds 14-13. The highlight of the game was the Herald defense which limited Aquinas to a total of 25 yards in the second half. Doug Hampton, Nick Leora, David Adent, Greg Herd, Brian White, Tony Ramsey, Bob Oeh, Dave Jones, Darryl Inouye, Scott West and Mike Smith were just a few that played outstanding defense.

 

The Championship game was also at La Mirada Stadium. The Heralds were to play undefeated Mojave High (13-0) who were averaging 38 points per game and had the No. 1 offense in CIF. Under the leadership of Coach Bravo (Def. Coordinator) the Heralds shut down Mojave allowing them only one touchdown from the line of scrimmage while the Herald offense exploded for 40 points. One of the features of the game was John Catlett’s kick-off return of 99 yards and his outstanding running behind his excellent offensive line of Dav Díaz, Phil Grace, Doug Chartier, Javier Sanchez and Dave Hernandez.