Irvington High School - Saga Yearbook (Fremont, CA)

Page 97 text:

The Irvington Vikings scrambled onto the field at Washington Memorial Stadium for their first home game of the season against Samuel Ayer. The Viks were once again underdogs by 13 points. The game started off with a bang as Ayer marched 75 yards after the opening kickoff for the first T.D. Ayer also scored in the second quarter to lead 12-0 at the half. Irvington bounced back in the second half to march 80 yards on the first series to score. Most of the yardage was picked up by Dave Wolfsmith and George Walker as both ran off right tackle in 7 of the 9 plays that led to the score. The extra point was good. Irvington scored again in the fourth quarter to take the lead. The second Viking T.D. was a duplicate of the first, in that most of the plays were run off right tackle. The Viks beat the Trojans 13 to 12 for their second victory of the season. Irvington’s footballers once again went onto the field as underdogs. San Jose received the kickoff and marched 80 yards in 11 plays to score. The outlook for the Vikings looked dim and it seemed that the predictions would prove true, but the Viks came storming back after San Jose kicked off and marched 70 yards to score. San Jose scored twice in the second quarter and led 20 to 7 at the half. Neither team scored in the third quarter but an Irvington fumble was recovered by San Jose deep in Irvington territory and the Bulldogs once again scored. Irvington dominated the last quarter but couldn’t score until the last 18 seconds. A tremendous effort by Gary Comphel gave Irvington their last T.D. Comphel made a great catch on the sidelines and fought to the goal. George Walker makes a great effort to intercept a Lincoln pass. Also pictured for the Viks is Gary Comphel, No. 11. Irvington had trouble putting together a good offensive attack and was beaten by the Lions 19 to 0. Irvington tried desperately to move the ball but the rain was a decisive handicap. Viking half-back, Dave Wolfsmith, once again starred as he picked up over 90 yards. Also starring for the Vikings was center, Rod Fontes and quarter-back, George Walker.

Page 96 text:

The Viking gridders roared onto the field in an¬ ticipation of upsetting the Willow Glen Rams on their own field and by so doing they would mark up their second win of the season, but the Rams were a tough foe an won 40 to 6. Although Irvington was losing they never gave up and constantly posed a scoring threat. Irvington was scoreless in the first three quarters, but early in the fourth the Viks started a drive from their own thirty and marched to the Ram twenty where George Walker carried it over on a long quarterback sneak. This was the first time the Rams had been scored on for 6 games and the first time this season. Irvington half-back, Dave Wolfsmith, is stopped by a Hill tackier after a twelve yard gain. Also pictured for the Vikings are Gary Comphel No. 11, Phil Wolfe No. 41, Fred Ivey No. 32, and lying on ground, No. 42, Chuck Colburn. This game is extremely significant in Viking history in that it was the first Irvington varsity football game, and most important, it was the first Viking victory. Irvington was a 37 point underdog but proved the pre¬ dictions were wrong by upsetting Hill, 13 to 6. In this, the first game with a school in our own district, Irvington was once again the underdog. Logan was a strong team and a 13 point favorite, but the Vikings were again to come from behind in another close game. The first half was truly a battle of defenses. There was only one good drive which was by Irvington when Dave Wolfsmith broke loose for a fifty yard scamper around right end, only to be stopped yards short of the goal Neither team scored in the first half. Logan scored twice in the third quarter and made both of the decisive conversions. Irvington came back to score twice in the fourth quarter but missed both of the conversions. This gave Logan a 14 to 12 victory over Irvington.

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The Irvington Vikings hobbled into one of their most important games of the season. They were battling Lick for third place in the league. The Viks went onto the field with most of the first string handicapped by injuries and held together by tape. The Viks held Lick to a 0-0 tie in the first quarter, but a rash of passes in the second quarter gave Lick four quick T.D’s. The Comets were playing excellent football and caused the Viks to get off a bad punt which was car¬ ried back 25 yards by Rodriguez for the Comet score. Then the passing started and Lick scored three more quickies within five minutes. The Vikings came back determined and held Lick scoreless in the second half. The game ended with Lick 27 Irvington 0. Irvington’s Varsity gridders hustled onto Wash¬ ington’s field for the biggest game of the season. The Viks were once again the underdog, but they surprised many people, especially the Huskies. Irvington kicked off to Washington and from that time on it was one of the cleanest and hardest fought games of the season for both clubs. Neither team scored in the first quarter. Washington scored on a pass over the middle to Max Cowan for the first T.D. of the game in the second quarter. Irvington came marching back in the next series to go 78 yards for the Viking score. Bob John¬ son and Dave Wolf smith sparked the drive by running around both sides with power and speed. Dave scored the T.D. by blasting up the middle. Jim White kicked the all important extra point that won the game. The final score was 7 to 6. Viking Tacklers Fred Ivey, Rod Fontes (in front of ball carrier), Bob Welch and Russ Pennelly stop Pioneer’s Scarpace behind the line of scrimmage for a one yard loss. The Mustangs managed to beat the Vikings, but only after a 3 1 2 hour battle that went into the twilight period of the day. Viking half-back Dave Wolf smith once again gave his usual performance by picking up 130 yards for the losers, but there was some consolation, in that Dave’s teammates helped him to become the leading rusher in the state. The Vikings put together a good offensive drive in the second half, but could not penetrate the Mustangs defense. The game ended with Pioneer on top, 13 to 0.