Tracy DB Jacob Alvarado goes up to make leaping interception in team’s section semifinal win against Granite Bay. Photo: Wayne Thallander/TracyHighFootball.com.
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It wasn’t a great start for the Tracy High football team with 10 straight losses in its first 10 reported games in the early 1920s.
Since then, though, the Bulldogs have won more than 500 games compared to less than 350 losses and have remained a strong program in recent years despite the addition of one school and then another in the San Joaquin County community.
Last year’s team under head coach Matt Shrout advanced to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship against Folsom with memorable wins against two teams – first Jesuit of Carmichael and then Granite Bay – that were favored. And although the Bulldogs were routed by Folsom, that ended up par for the course for a Folsom team that routed Grant of Sacramento and Oceanside in its next two games for the CIF Division I state title.
Most of Tracy’s success historically came during the years when the team was led by head coach Wayne Schneider from 1965 to 1972 and then again from 1977 to 1994. Both of the school’s section title teams – in 1982 and 1987 – came when Schneider was in charge.
That’s also why it was funny going through the school’s scores for 1939, 1940 and 1941 and seeing the Bulldogs had wins of 20-7, 32-0 and 40-0 over a school called Schneider. According to legendary sports researcher Bruce McIntosh, he thinks Schneider might have been a correctional school in Stockton that existed for a few years prior to World War II.
In the school’s early years, the Bulldogs also once played in five tie games in a row. When we first saw that total in McIntosh’s card files many years ago, we put it in the state record book. It’s still the record and probably will be unbreakable. The ties began in the final two games of 1938 – 0-0 vs. Manteca and 6-6 vs. Ceres – and then continued into the first three games of 1939 – 0-0 vs. Alhambra of Martinez, 6-6 vs. Pittsburg and 0-0 vs. Oakdale.
In later years, the Bulldogs and most other teams from the southern part of the SJS have had difficulty with St. Mary’s of Stockton. In fact, Tracy is on a current 14-game losing streak in matchups against the Rams. However, it definitely was not that way before. In Tracy’s first 20 games against St. Mary’s, the Bulldogs never lost although there was one tie.
Here are some of the other Tracy records that the school now has in its possession courtesy of this archive initiative:
Most Points Scored (Single Game)
63 – VS. East Union (Manteca), 1968
63 – VS. Bear Creek (Stockton), 2011*
62 – VS. East Union (Manteca), 1967
62 – VS. Bear Creek (Stockton), 2009
61 – VS. Stagg (Stockton), 2000
*One of highest scoring games in state history. Tracy won 63-62.
Bear Creek tied state record at the time for most points scored in a loss.
Most Lopsided Wins
62-0 – VS. East Union (Manteca), 1967
60-0 – VS. Merrill F. West (Tracy), 2013
63-7 – VS. East Union (Manteca), 1968
56-0 – VS. Downey (Modesto), 1971
Most Points Allowed (Single Game)
68 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 1994
62 – VS. Downey (Modesto), 2007
62 – VS. Bear Creek (Stockton), 2011*
62 – VS. Lincoln (Stockton), 2012
*One of highest scoring games in state history. Tracy won 63-62.
Bear Creek tied state record at the time for most points scored in a loss.
Most Lopsided Losses
61-0 – VS. Livermore, 1921
61-0 – VS. Sonora, 1921
56-0 – VS. Lincoln (Stockton), 2006
52-0 – VS. Lodi, 1928
68-14 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 1994
Records Against Notable Opponents
31-9 VS. Franklin (Stockton)
23-9-1 VS. Edison (Stockton)
28-14 VS. Stagg (Stockton)
29-15 VS. Lodi
25-18-1 VS. St. Mary’s (Stockton)*
27-23-6 VS. Oakdale
14-13-4 VS. Sonora
24-24 VS. Lincoln (Stockton)
9-10 VS. Merrill F. West (Tracy)
28-40 VS. Manteca
4-1 VS. Kimball (Tracy)
*Team went 19-0-1 in first 20 games against St. Mary’s but is on current 14-game losing streak.
Remember, any school in the state can have this research finished in a customized fashion in return for a reasonable fee. For details, CLICK HERE.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He also is a former sports editor of the Tracy Press. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
