Arroyo Grande players get a little crazy after they beat Culver City to win CIF Southern Section Western Division crown in 2011. Photo: RAPhotos.com.
It took many, many years for the Eagles to climb above the .500 mark for their all-time record, but thanks to head coaches Jon Huss and Tom Goossen they’ve been on the rise for more than 30 years. Go inside for a snapshot look at the program’s history in this latest school to get its all-time scores archives completed.
Up next in this series: El Rancho (Pico Rivera). For more on the Cal-Hi Sports football archives project and on how we can help your school, CLICK HERE.
There wasn’t much you could say about the success of Arroyo Grande High’s football program prior to the middle of the 1980s. At that time, the Eagles had had only one winning season out of 21 and they were more than 100 games below .500 since their first reported games from the early 1900s.
There was a young coach learning the ropes in those years, however, and once Jon Huss got the team to 6-5 in 1986 it seemed like the tide was turning. In 1987, with future NFL quarterback Jamie Martin leading the way, Arroyo Grande won its first CIF Southern Section title with a 15-10 triumph over Burroughs of Burbank in the Northwestern Division championship game.
Tom Goossen is one of just two head coaches that Arroyo Grande has had in the last 35 years, but he announced his retirement at the end of last season. Photo: keyt.com.
Huss only had two other losing seasons for the rest of his 25-year career and in that time directed the Eagles to three more CIFSS championships: a Division VII title in 1994, a Division III crown in 1997 and then a Division IV title in 1998.
When Huss retired after the 2006 season, one of his longtime assistants, Tom Goossen, took over the head coaching job. Goossen had been an assistant for 20 years and his career, although shorter, was amazingly similar to the one Huss had in that it wasn’t successful immediately.
After the Eagles went 3-7 and 4-6 in Goossen’s first two seasons, they’ve been more than solid since then and in the 2010s so far have one of the top records in the CIFSS at 71-18. This includes an appearance in the CIFSS Western Division final in 2010 and a 42-14 win over Culver City in the CIFSS Western Division final in 2011.
After last year’s 10-2 season in which Arroyo Grande lost its first game to Lompoc, then won 10 in a row before losing to Valencia in the CIFSS Division 4 playoffs, Goossen announced his retirement. The 10-3, 11-2 and 10-2 seasons that the Eagles had for 2014, 2015 and 2016 also pushed them above 400 reported all-time wins and gave them a lot of breathing room for their all-time reported record being well above the .500 mark. They will start 2017 under new head coach Mike Hartman at 406-368-24 (not including two wins by forfeit, one loss by forfeit). Hartman is a former head coach at St. Joseph of Santa Maria who also was Arroyo Grande’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons.
As with Lompoc (a school previously done in these series of football historical features), Arroyo Grande represents an established town on California’s Central Coast that has great long-standing rivalries with schools such as Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo and Atascadero. In compiling the school’s archive, one of the best totals was the rivalry with San Luis Obispo. Scores could be missing but we came up with 44-43-0 with Arroyo Grande in the slight lead with the first reported score from 1926.
Here are some other Arroyo Grande football records that the school now has in its possession courtesy of this archive initiative:
WIN-LOSS RECORDS FOR EACH DECADE
Arroyo Grande grad and former NFL QB Jamie Martin is shown being inducted into Weber State University’s Hall of Fame. Photo: wsusignpost.com.
Early Years Thru 1930s: 12-32-5
1940s: 24-33-2 (not including one loss by forfeit)
1950s: 34-48-4
1960s: 34-50-8 (not including one win by forfeit)
1970s: 29-58-3 (not including one win by forfeit)
1980s: 48-59-1
1990s: 87-30-0
2000s: 66-40-1
2010s: 71-18-0
REPORTED ALL-TIME RECORD AFTER 2016 SEASON:
406 WINS, 368 LOSSES, 24 TIES*
*Note: Does not include one win by forfeit in 1960s, one win by forfeit in 1970s and one loss by forfeit in 1940s. Counting those results, records would be 24-34-2 for 1940s, 35-50-8 for 1960s, 30-58-3 for 1970s and 408-369-24 for overall.
52.4 ALL-TIME WINNING PERCENTAGE
(Based on half-win, half-loss for tie)
Best Records For Single Season
13-1 – 2011
12-1 – 1994
10-1 – 2001
11-2 – 1990
11-2 – 1998
11-2 – 2015
Worst Records For Single Season
0-6-1 – 1936
0-7-2 – 1965
1-9 – 1981
1-8 – 1974
1-7 – 1952
1-7-1 – 1970
Records Against Notable Opponents
33-20-1 VS. Righetti (Santa Maria)
40-33-2 VS. Atascadero*
44-43-0 VS. San Luis Obispo*
34-49-2 VS. Paso Robles
31-47-3 VS. Lompoc
*Does not include forfeit win for each series.
Most Points Scored (Single Game)
65 VS. Santa Maria 2009
62 VS. Independence (Bakersfield) 2014
61 VS. Washington (San Francisco) 2007
58 VS. Lompoc 1998
56 VS. Newbury Park 1997
56 VS. Cabrillo (Lompoc) 2011
56 VS. San Luis Obispo 2013
55 VS. Righetti (Santa Maria) 1993
55 VS. San Marcos (Santa Barbara) 2005
54 VS. Lompoc 1938
Most Lopsided Wins
65-14 VS. Santa Maria 2009
49-0 VS. Templeton 2013
48-0 VS. Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara) 1984
48-0 VS. Santa Maria 1993
Most Points Allowed (Single Game)
60 VS. Santa Maria 1949
60 VS. Lompoc 1969
53 VS. San Luis Obispo 1935
52 VS. Valencia 2016
50 VS. Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) 1967
Most Lopsided Losses
60-0 VS. Lompoc 1969
53-0 VS. San Luis Obispo 1935
50-0 VS. Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) 1967
Longest Winning Streaks
16 – 1998 to 1999 (won last eight, then first eight)
13 – 2011 (won last 13 games, then lost first game of 2012)
10 – 1994 to 1995 (won last six, then first four)
10 – 2001 (won first 10, then lost in playoffs)
10 – 2016 (lost first game, then 10 wins, then playoff loss)
Longest Losing Streaks
9 – 1974 to 1975 (lost last seven, then lost first two)
8 – 1949 to 1950 (lost last seven, then first game following season)
8 – 1968 to 1969 (lost last three, then lost first five)
*Note: There is a longer winless streak in the school’s history. Between 1935 and 1937, Arroyo Grande had an 0-12-3 streak. This includes the last three games of 1935, all of 1936 and the first five games of 1937.
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.
Thanks to Stockton office assistant editor Paul Muyskens for contributing to this post. 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
One Comment
The 1987 Season that We Won our 1st Championship our Record was 11-2-1
It should go on Our Best Year Wins Single Season.
Great Job Mark by you & your Staff.
Mike Addy