Antioch Football History Highlights

Our third school of the summer featured in this series in which we compile its all-time football scores archive also goes back more than 100 years. Antioch may not quite yet have 500 reported wins, but interest in the Panthers heading into a season may be the highest its ever been in all of those years.

Up next in this series: Garden Grove. The Argonauts have been a powerhouse in their division within the CIF Southern Section the last few years, which has prompted the school to ask for its all-time scores to be provided. For more on the Cal-Hi Sports football archives project and how we can help your school, CLICK HERE. Note: One doesn’t have to be the football coach or AD to order this work. It can be presented to any school as a gift.

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Writers and fans who witnessed last November’s CIF North Coast Section Division I semifinal between 11-0 Antioch and 11-0 Foothill of Pleasanton knew they were watching history, but now it all can be told, especially from the Antioch perspective since the Panthers can trace their football history back to before 1910.

Foothill, which won the game 55-54 and then lost in the section final to eventual CIF Open Division state champion De La Salle, happens to be a much younger school.

Since Antioch has now had its football scores archive compiled by Cal-Hi Sports, we know for example that no Antioch team in all of its years had ever been 11-0 before. We also know for sure that the Panthers had never scored 54 points in a loss before and that their 54 points ranks among the top 15 in school history. The only reason that 54 points at the time wasn’t such a big deal is that Antioch reached 52, 53, 55, 62 and 58 points in games played earlier in the season. That 62-point output also came close to the school record of 65 that was set in 1945 in a 65-0 win vs. John Swett of Crockett.

Antioch’s resurgence, of course, was related to having the consensus No. 1 junior running back in the nation leading the way for last year’s team. Najee Harris also was the Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Football Player of the Year as a junior. With Harris back, along with several other returning starters, Antioch will be one of the most followed teams in California for the upcoming season and will be featured on a national TV broadcast when it plays De La Salle in its fourth game.

And to say it’s been a resurgence is a major understatement. When Harris was a freshman, Antioch suffered through a 1-9 season in which its only win was against a Franklin of Stockton team that just a few years earlier had its program shut down for recruiting violations.

While Harris’ status as a big-time national recruit has been fun to watch, some longtime followers of Antioch football probably chuckle to themselves. They know that for Harris to one day perhaps be known as the best player to ever graduate from the school that he’ll have to be a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer.

That’s because one of Antioch’s grads is the legendary Baltimore Colts’ NFL defensive end of the 1950s and 1960s, Gino Marchetti, recently featured in Sports Illustrated. Marchetti played at Antioch from 1941 to 1943, although he didn’t become a standout football player until later on, first serving in World War II and then getting noticed at USF.

With Marchetti and other standout players, such as running back Worth Shaw, who scored 25 touchdowns in 1945, Antioch had some of the best teams in the state during the 1940s. Head coach Jack Danilovich was primarily credited for building teams that racked up a 67-14-2 record for the decade. The school that had the best record in the state for the 1940s was now closed San Francisco Poly at 84-7-3.

Two others from Antioch to have had 10-year NFL careers were Duane Putnam (mostly with the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s) and Ron Pritchard (mostly with the Houston Oilers and Cincinnati Bengals in the 1970s). Frank Beede also made a name for himself with the Seattle Seahawks in the early 1990s for becoming a solid starter as an undrafted free agent. He later became Antioch’s head coach and in 2010 was voted the NFL Teacher of the Year.

The school actually began in the early 1900s as Riverview High, which is recognized as the first high school in Contra Costa County. Riverview served both Antioch, Pittsburg and other cities. It wasn’t long before Mt. Diablo of Concord and Alhambra of Martinez opened and in the early 1920s Pittsburg High opened.

The first Antioch vs. Pittsburg game was played in 1924, which also seems to be when Antioch was primarily used in references to sports results instead of Riverview. The rivalry, dubbed the Big Little Game, has gone on to become one of the best in Northern California, despite the fact that Pittsburg has dominated for long stretches. Last year’s 44-42 win by the Panthers snapped a nine-game losing streak.

The 1970s also were good for Antioch with a 76-22-2 reported record, but the 2000s and 2010s haven’t been. Even with last season’s 11-1 mark, the Panthers still need three more wins to get above .500 for the current decade and will need two or three more similar seasons as last year to get above .500 since the 2000 season.

Here are some other Antioch football records that the school will soon have in its possession courtesy of this archive initiative (thanks much to Stockton office assistant editor Paul Muyskens for work on this particular school):

WIN-LOSS RECORDS FOR EACH DECADE

1890s through 1910s: 9-7-2*
*May be missing scores.

1920s: 23-27-5 (plus one forfeit loss)

1930s: 27-60-1

1940s: 67-14-2

1950s: 39-37-6

1960s: 51-31-8

1970s: 76-22-2

1980s: 61-41-1

1990s: 58-45-0

2000s: 40-59-1

2010s: 32-34

REPORTED ALL-TIME RECORD HEADING INTO 2016 SEASON:

483 WINS, 377 LOSSES, 28 TIES*

*Note: One forfeit loss not included. Including those results, 1920s record would be 23-28-5 and all-time would be 483-378-28.

56.0 ALL-TIME WINNING PERCENTAGE
(Based on half-win, half-loss for tie)

Best Records For Single Season
10-0 ¬ 1945
8-0 – 1946
7-0 – 1942
8-0-1 – 1966
11-1 – 2015
10-1 – 1977

Worst Records For Single Season
0-10 – 2004
1-9 – 1931
1-9 – 1988
1-9 – 2003
1-9 – 2011
1-9 – 2013
0-6-2 – 1939

Most Points Scored (Single Game)
70 – VS. Dougherty Valley (San Ramon), 2012
65 – VS. Swett (Crockett), 1945
65 – VS. Pinole Valley (Pinole), 1991
62 – VS. Deer Valley (Antioch), 2015
58 – VS. Alhambra (Martinez), 1919
58 – VS. Las Lomas (Walnut Creek), 1973
58 – VS. Amador Valley (Pleasanton), 2015
56 – VS. Pinole Valley (Pinole), 1994
56 – VS. College Park (Pleasant Hill), 1996
56 – VS. Gregori (Modesto), 2011

Most Lopsided Wins
65-0 – VS. Swett (Crockett), 1949
65-8 – VS. Pinole Valley (Pinole), 1991
56-0 – VS. Gregori (Modesto), 2011
54-0 – VS. Miramonte (Orinda), 1958
62-9 – VS. Deer Valley (Antioch), 2015
52-0 – VS. Pinole Valley (Pinole), 2015
58-7 – VS. Alhambra (Martinez), 1919
51-0 – VS. Emery (Emeryville), 1934
50-0 – VS. College Park (Pleasant Hill), 1978
70-20 – VS. Dougherty Valley (San Ramon), 2012

Most Points Allowed (Single Game)
66 – VS. San Ramon Valley (Danville), 2012
64 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2001
63 – VS. Pittsburg, 2003
62 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2002
62 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2006
61 – VS. Pittsburg, 1957
56 – VS. Amador Valley (Pleasanton), 2005
56 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2005
55 – VS. Ygnacio Valley (Concord), 1999
55 – VS. Heritage (Brentwood), 2010
55 – VS. Freedom (Oakley), 2012
55 – VS. Foothill (Pleasanton), 2015*
*Antioch scored 54 in one of highest-scoring CIF sectional playoff games in state history.

Most Lopsided Losses
66-0 – VS. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 2012
64-0 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2001
62-0 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2006
56-0 – VS. De La Salle (Concord), 2005
55-0 – VS. Ygnacio Valley (Concord), 1999
54-0 – VS. San Rafael, 1920
61-7 – VS. Pittsburg, 1957

Records Against Notable Opponents
29-16 VS. Liberty (Brentwood)
30-17-2 VS. Clayton Valley (Concord)
38-31-4 VS. Mt. Diablo (Concord)
9-10 VS. Deer Valley (Antioch)
27-65-7 VS. Pittsburg*
*Rivalry began in 1924. Games not played from 1939-1945. Pittsburg once won 26 straight games. Win in 2015 by Antioch broke nine-game losing streak.

Longest Winning Streaks
20 – 1944-1947 (won last game of 44, then 10-0, then 8-0 and then first game of 1947 before loss to Lodi)*
12 – 1976-1977 (won last two games of 76, then first 10)
11 – 2015 (won first 11 of season, then loss to Foothill of Pleasanton)
10 – 1941-1942 (won last three, then 7-0, the lost in first game of 1943
*Have seen references to a 27-game winning streak in 1940s, but the reported scores in our football cards show it at 20 games.

Longest Losing Streaks
15 – 2004-05 (lost last five, then 0-10 before winning first game of 2006)
9 – 1987-1988 (lost last two, then first seven)
9 – 2013 (won first game, then lost nine in a row to end season)
Note: There also is an 0-8-2 winless streak for 1938 into 1939.

Remember, any school in the state or a fan/supporter of any school in the state can have this research completed in a customized fashion in return for a reasonable fee. or details, CLICK HERE.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports