Coronado High School - Legend Yearbook (El Paso, TX)

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'H ,J „l +. fenders. rt Martinez successfully kicks the ball igh the uprights. VARSITY FOOTBALL 11-2 8 14 Permian 21 9 Ysleta 35 12 Palo Duro 28 6 Andress 33 0 Bowie 35 0 Austin 45 28 Jefferson 68 0 El Paso 21 7 Irvin 35 7 Burges 13 6 Bel Air 24 8 Monterey i 15 Lewisville ♦JUNIOR MATT BAUTISTA proudly displays his feelings about being a regional champ. On Dec. 1. all of the long hours and krd work paid off as the fired-up T- rd squad blasted their way to a 28-8 ctory over the favored Plainsmen, d the long-awaited regional title. Jay Saad got the game going for ie T-birds midway through the first [tarter, when he stripped the ball pay from Monterey’s Willie Johnson i the Coronado 24-yard line. Twelve ays and 57 yards later, Robalin fted the ball to Brian Peer in the id zone for the only score of the t st half. iAs the third quarter got underway, teve Nichols recovered a Willie )hnson fumble on Monterey’s 17- ird line to put Coronado back into ;oring position. Robalin spotted ide-open Forrest Rich in the end ne for the score, and the extra bint by Gilbert Martinez raised the mint to 14-0. With three minutes left in the third uarter, Monterey scored and added le two-point conversion to cut the '-bird lead to 14-8. The determined T-bird team ■fused to let the Monterey iuchdown dampen its spirits. In the fourth quarter, Coach Brooks gave Martinez the chance to show off his kicking leg for a field goal attempt from 42 yards out. The kick was good and Coronado owned a nine point lead. With 29 seconds left in the game, Jay Saad reached pay dirt from one yard out to end the afternoon’s play with a 24-8 victory. On Dec. 7, proud T-bird members wearing three-piece suits and cowboy- hats, strutted onto an airplane, on their way to Dallas, Texas Stadium and the quarterfinal playoffs against the Lewisville Farmers. At 2 p.m. on Dec. 8, the huge stadium was far from being filled, and the Lewisville crowd greatly out- numbered the small, but energetic Coronado bunch. The game started on a grim note for the T-birds when offensive tackle David Georges was sidelined with a head injury. Moments later senior end Brian Peer was carried off on a stretcher with a recurring neck injury. The Farmers’ towering defense continued to penetrate Coronado’s offensive line to reach Robalin and his backfield mates before some of his handoffs were even completed. Midway through the second quarter, the Farmers scored from five yards out to take the lead. After fruitlessly trying to move the ball, Coronado kicked the ball away and Lewisville started its second scoring drive. Starting quarterback Hal Stewart found a receiver open for a Farmer 'I'D with 35 seconds on the clock, the extra point was no good, and the score was 13-0 at the half. The Birds gained momentum early in the third quarter after Robert Butchofsky recovered a Farmer fumble 28 yards from Lewisville’s end zone. Long gains by Mike Jarvis and Forrest Rich enabled Robalin to carry the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line for a T-bird score. The fans were on the edges of their seats when Coronado faked a Martinez 49-yard field goal attempt on fourth down, but all hopes for a possible touchdown were crushed when Robalin’s pass sailed out of bounds. The final straw that broke the T- birds’ back was a high snap from center Mark Musgrave over Rich’s head late in the third quarter with the T-birds in punt formation. Rich was standing on his own 15 when the ball flew by him. He raced into the end zone and caught up with it a step before he went out of the end zone for a safety and Lewisville’s final two points. As the seconds ticked away and the game ended, the players’ dream of winning the quarterfinal championship faded out of sight. But even greater than the feeling of defeat, was an overwhelming feeling of pride in themselves and their school. • WITH THE AID of the T-bird offensive line, senior Forrest Rich scrambles for yardage in the Cowboy Stadium. varsity football 129

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“After a while, you really don’t think about playing in the Sun Bowl; you just concentrate on the game,” explained senior running hack, Kelly Boren. When Coronado began its final game of the regular season against Burges Nov. 16, it had already taken the district title with the win against Irvin Nov. 9. Coronado’s chances looked brighter from the first play of winning another the game after Burges running back George Downey was injured. Later in the first quarter, one of Coach Brooks’ assorted running backs, Kelly Boren, made a 21-yard dash for the first touchdown. Later, after the T-birds made the score 13-9 with a Forrest Rich touchdown, came the end of the half. Following a Boren TD, Robert Butchofsky blocked a punt and fell on it in the end zone as a result of a bad Burges snap. Both teams scored in the final stanza, to leave the score 35-7. The T-birds’ substantial victory over Burges was the first time in three years the confrontation didn’t end up in a 15-14 score. Next week on Nov. 23, Coronado again journeyed to the Sun Bowl to play 2-AAAA representative, Bel Air, for the bi-district title. Attempting to win their 10th victory on a row was not as easy a task as the other games had been for the T-birds. The Thunderbirds again became the first to put a dent on the scoreboard when quarterback Brad Robalin connected with Dave Richer at midfield. Gilbert Martinez booted in the extra point. Coronado repeatedly made costly offensive mistakes, which were apparent throughout the second half. Martinez again kicked the pigskin for a 24-yard field goal leaving the score 10-0 at the half. When the third quarter began, Bel Air took control of the game and scored later in the fourth quarter. Martinez kicked another field goal later in the quarter to finalize the tally at 13-6 with Coronado on top. Coach Brooks was not very impressed with his team’s pre- regional performance. According to tackle, David Georges, I think that Coach Brooks was hanpy that we won, but not to proud of our performance.” As the sun rose over the giant Thunderbird on the mountain, 45 hopeful football players and a tense coaching and training staff boarded a chartered bus headed for Lubbock, for the regional play-offs against Lubbock Monterey. Their disappointing performance against the Bel Air Highlanders brought about a great show' of dedication from the team members as well as the coaches. Many an hour was spent viewing films of the Monterey Plainsmen and their awesome running back Willie Johnson. A FLEET OF T-BRID running backs is led against the Monterey Plainsmen by senior Steve Nichols. Following are quarterback Brad Robalin and back Forrest Rich.

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“We let ourselves down this year, I mean, by not playing 100 per cent football,” said sophomore Tim Hudson. Potential and actual playing seemed to be in conflict off and on throughout the junior varsity season, thus bringing about a four and four record. “We had a disappointing season because we had the talent and potential but lacked in attitude and desire, said head coach Tony Robles. After a difficult 16-6 victory against the Mayfield Trojans, the team went on to crush El Paso High 43 to 3. The Birds compiled over 400 yards total offense in one of their best games of the season. “If we could have played our best as in the El Paso High game, we would have had a much better season. said tight end John Liddicoat. The next Saturday the team traveled to Alamogordo but found only janitors at the school. The result of the schedule mishap was an eight game season instead of nine. The Jefferson Foxes then took on the undefeated J.V. and came out on top. 16-6. There followed three more consecutive losses for the Birds to Andress, Burges, then Irvin, the eventual district champion. “There wasn’t a team we should have lost to,” said Robles, who was in his first year as B-team head coach. “Concentration and effort were not all there. They played as individuals instead of as a team,” he added. A 16 to 6 victory over Austin and another 38 to 6 win over Bowie closed out the B-team’s season in fourth place. “Overall the season was a learning experience due to a lack of experience,” said tight end Tim Hudson. . Linebacker Rich Myers puts the finishing touch- es on the tackle of a Burges runner. 'On third down, fullback Eddy Bernaldez gains more than enough yardage in the final game of the season. Safety Jay Barber and tackle David Briseno aid each other in bringing down a Burges player. JUNIOR VARSITY 16 6 FOOTBALL 4-4 Mayfield 43 3 El Paso 6 12 Jefferson 23 24 Andress 22 26 Burges 18 27 Irvin 16 6 Austin 16 6 Bowie ►Running back David Woody struggles to gain as much yardage as possible in the season opener against Mayfield. 130 the challenge