Roy Barajas (left) of El Monte rushed for 427 yards on the same night five years ago when he was named Homecoming King. At right, Del Oro (Loomis) grad & former NFL QB Randy Fasani talks to Del Oro players prior to 2015 CIF state finals. On a night 25 years ago for the Golden Eagles, Fasani passed for 414 yards in a 30-0 win over Folsom (yes, that Folsom). Photos: Hudl.com & @delorofootball / Twitter.com.
For the next few weeks, we’ll go back in time to approximately the same weekend of the California high school football season from five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years ago. At the end of what would have normally been the end of each of those seasons, we may go back even further. For this look back, we highlight the first ever Oaks Christian vs. Westlake rivalry game, a Homecoming King who rushed for more than 400 yards in one game, a team that overcame a 39-13 lead in the second half even though the other team had Colin Kaepernick at quarterback and still probably the best performance by a player against the championship program at Corona Centennial.
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Khalil Tate’s emergence at QB fueled Gardena Serra to high state rankings in 2014 and 2015. Photo: Student Sports.
5 YEARS AGO (2015)
*State No. 6 Serra of Gardena rallied to beat Bishop Amat of La Puente last 41-38 thanks to a spectacular 50-yard TD run with two minutes left by QB Khalil Tate. He ended with 201 yards rushing and three TDs plus 200 yards passing and two other scores. Both of his TD passes went to Brandon Burton from 39 and 50 yards out while Job McGinty also scored on a 55-yard run. Tate went on to become one of the most thrilling running QBs ever at the University of Arizona.
*We don’t have a category in the state record book for most yards rushing by a player on the same night he was crowned Homecoming King, but this one for El Monte’s Roy Barajas from 2015 might be it. Barajas rushed for more yards than some entire teams had in their games this week, as he carried 22 times for 427 yards and six touchdowns during a 74-12 win over Gabrielino of San Gabriel. The 424-yard outing also was the third highest reported total in the state so far in the 2015 season.
10 YEARS AGO (2010)
*Senior QB Kyle Boehm from Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, who had committed to Cal, put his name into the state record book for best perfect passing performances as he finished 13-of-13 for 312 yards and two TDs in a 33-32 victory over Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco. Boehm also rushed for two TDs in a game that was played at historic Kezar Stadium.
*Eastlake of Chula Vista running back Aaron Baltazar, who six weeks earlier suffered what was called a “minor heart attack,” returned to the field o rush for 170 yards on 15 carries, including TD runs of 75 and 31 yards, as the Titans beat Cathedral Catholic of San Diego 24-22. Baltazar collapsed at a practice in August, but was cleared to play in early October.
*In the first-ever meeting between bordering schools Westlake of Westlake Village and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, Nick Isham passed for 308 yards and two TDs to lead Westlake to a 31-12 triumph. The Warriors also received 92 yards rushing and one TD from Tavion Mowry. Both teams were in the top 20 of the state with Westlake at No. 4 and the Lions at No. 20 entering the contest.
Former NFL RB Toby Gerhart (and still the all-time state career rushing leader) checked out Vista Murrieta in a game in Sacramento during 2019 season. Toby’s father, Todd, the former Norco coach when Toby and the rest of the Gerharts played there, was on the staff at Vista Murrieta. Photo: Mark Tennis.
15 YEARS AGO (2005)
*In what may have to go down still as the most impressive performance to ever be turned in against the championship program at Corona Centennial, check out the numbers for Norco senior Toby Gerhart in his Oct. 14, 2005 outing vs. the Huskies. In leading Norco to a 42-21 win, Gerhart had 39 carries for 441 yards rushing and six TDs. He ran for four scores in the first half (36, 67, 11 and 3 yards) and he had two more in the fourth quarter. Toby also had two other TDs called back by penalty and he moved up to No. 2 on the all-time career state list. “Every time he touches the ball, you just go, ‘Ugh,'” Centennial head coach Matt Logan told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. “You hope he trips. You hope they throw a flag.” Gerhart went to break the state record, finished second once in the Heisman Trophy when he was at Stanford and had an NFL career (mostly with the Minnesota Vikings).
*Trailing senior QB Colin Kaepernick and his team at Pitman of Turlock 39-13 in the second half, including an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Merced duo of Logan Todd and Carter Todd went nuts to lead the Bears to a 52-39 win. Logan completed 23 of 40 passes for 392 yards and three TDs. Carter hauled in 11 of those catches for 221 yards and one score.
*We had correspondent Harold Abend go up to Middletown and watched as the host Mustangs posted their sixth straight shutout win to start the season, 35-0, over Lower Lake. Middletown nearly gave up a score in the third quarter, but Myles Johnson stopped the threat with an interception in the end zone. Head coach Bill Foltmer’s squad was led by Zack Davis (7 carries, 130 yds, 3 TDs) and Ryan Petersen (66-yd TD catch, 70 yds rushing & defensive plays).
20 YEARS AGO (2000)
*After improving to 5-0 with a 48-18 victory over Leigh of San Jose, Valley Christian of San Jose was elevated into the State Top 20 rankings for the first time in school history. The Warriors, who played in a smaller division in their early years and in 2000 still had not yet joined the famed West Catholic Athletic League, were led against the Longhorns by Heath Ferreira, who rushed for 270 yards and scored five times. Head coach Mike Machado is still leading the VC program.
*Senior RB Royce Barber from Montgomery of Santa Rosa, who missed most of the 1999 season with a broken collarbone, racked up a school-record 339 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns in a 41-32 victory over Piner of Santa Rosa. Barber was handed the ball 42 times in the game and helped Montgomery rally from a 26-13 deficit. Earlier in the season, he had 204 yards rushing in a win against Healdsburg.
25 YEARS AGO (1995)
*Many NorCal sportswriters — and one from USA Today — thought De La Salle of Concord and its 43-game win streak was going to end in a matchup of unbeaten teams when the Spartans played Pittsburg. The Pirates had averaged 57 points per game in their first four games and were No. 12 in the nation by USA Today (we had De La Salle higher in the state rankings). There were 12,000 fans packed in at Pitt, but it was another impressive win by De La Salle. The Pirates did lead 7-6 at halftime, but fell behind on a 58-yard bomb from DLS QB Jon Kirkham to Rashad Floyd. Floyc later came around on an apparent reverse only to stop and pop a back-breaking 40-yard scoring toss to Ryan Brinkley. The Spartans went on to win 28-7.
*A state record was tied by DB John Jenkins of Firebaugh when he had five interceptions for the CIF Central Section school in a 29-7 victory over Mendota.
*Regarded as one of the top junior QBs on the West Coast by college scouts, Randy Fasani from Del Oro of Loomis connected on 13 of 19 passes for 414 yards and three TDs to lead the unbeaten Golden Eagles past Folsom 30-0. It was the highest single game total for yards at that point of the 1995 season. And of course just seeing that Folsom once lost to Del Oro 30-0 seems so implausible given how dominant the Bulldogs have been in recent years.
30 YEARS AGO (1990)
*Leading defensive linemen in the state included Brian Greeley from La Sierra of Riverside, Steve Hoffman from Pioneer of San Jose, Mike Flanagan from Rio Americano of Sacramento, Brian Pearsall of Villa Park, Mike Balian from Damien of La Verne, Dan McCarthy from Marin Catholic of Kentfield, Joe Dunn from Alhambra of Martinez, Nate Olsen of San Marino and junior LeRoi Glover from Point Loma of San Diego. It’s safe to say that the big junior went on to surpass any of the seniors in college and the pros.
35 YEARS AGO (1985)
*Unbeaten Sweetwater of National City extended its longest in the state win streak to 31 games (30-0 counting forfeits) with a 42-21 win over Fullerton. Despite Fullerton having an 11-game win streak, the Red Devils (5-0) also stayed on top of the Class AAA state rankings. Terry Rodgers, the son of former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, rushed for three touchdowns, caught two touchdown passes ad threw a touchdown pass. He accounted for 222 yards of total offense.
*Also from the Red Devils that week, running back J.J. Flannigan of Pomona rushed for more than 200 yards for the fifth straight week in leading his team past Glendora 28-17. Flannigan galloped for 265 yards on 19 carries and scored three TDs.
*Future MLB first baseman J.T. Snow came through as a football QB at Los Alamitos by throwing a 17-yard TD pass to Robbie Katzaroff with no time left to give the Griffins a 24-21 victory against Esperanza of Anaheim. Katzaroff was a great baseball player as well. In the previous spring, he set an all-time Orange County record with 51 hits.
40 YEARS AGO (1980)
*In a 7-6 triumph by Woodland over Foothill of Sacramento that improved the Wolves’ record to 5-0, Jim Dove had the unique experience of kicking the game-winning extra point while in the same game blocking the PAT attempt after Foothill’s only score of the night.
*The most impressive stat star of the week was WR Richard Rodriguez from Mountain View of El Monte. He caught 20 passes, just four off the listed state record at the time, for 180 yards and three TDs in a 26-8 win vs. Gladstone of Covina. QB Max Shubin had a great night for Mountain View as well as he finished 29 of 44 passing fr 294 yards.
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
