Western High School - Epitaph Yearbook (Las Vegas, NV)

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Warriors defeat Wooster 28-13 for State Title lt was a long nine years. Having come up on the losing end all that time, the Warriors knew that being number one was the only way to go. No matter what anyone says there is absolutely no substitute for winning. The 1975 football team got it together and did just that. Naturally, being Western Warriors, they did it the hard way. In pre-season ratings they were ranked number one in the state, But that is often the kiss of death to the team that believes its own publicity. The coaching staff took great care to school the team in believing only in tinal game scores and nothing else, Coaches Smith, Traasdahl, Aiwhoi, and Frank Reeves strived for long grueling hours to keep the Warriors from becoming excessively confident. The season opener against Eldorado brought an easy win 40-0, but the road trip to Hemet, California the following week resulted in a 21-14 loss which helped to keep the team realistic, Even a 61-0 win over Kingman didn't swell many heads. After a routine 34-7 win over Chapparal, the Warriors were ready to face their first tough conference competition-Rancho, Here the hard work began to pay off with a 28-12 win. lt was good to be winning, but with Gorman and then Clark next on the schedule no one was getting carried away with predictions about the future. It was the fantastic 34-0 Homecoming victory over Gorman which awakened the school to the possibilities of being on top. Spirits were high, the thrill of victory being a rare and precious thing to student body and team alike. But then came the Clark game and the agony of defeat 20-15 in the last seven seconds of play, It was a cruel blow, but the team went back to work determined that the three way tie with Clark and Gorman for the zone championship would end with the Warriors on top, The team won the games against Valley and Vegas, 24-11 and 42-14, by hard work, never looking farther ahead than the game immediately before them. The night we defeated Vegas, Gorman eliminated Clark from competition to throw the Southern Zone conference into a tie requiring a playoff game to determine who would go to State. The atmosphere of the school became electric with anticipation. The entire student body, faculty, and administration were waiting to play Gorman again. The danger was a defeat from over-confidence after that 34-0 earlier win. The big word was wif . If we can do it again then we've got a chance for the state title. But no one wanted to look farther than that if because it might be ajinx, The playoff game at the stadium was a tough one, Both teams wanted to win badly. Western took the lead in the first half and appeared to have the game under control, Then with 4:13 remaining in the game we ran out of downs. Gorman staged a gallant comeback and things began to look desparate for the Warriors. With 31 seconds left Steve Donohue intercepted a Gorman pass and returned the ball 90 yards for an apparent touchdown. He was mobbed by fans and teammates in the Gorman end zone. However, the referees ruled that Donohue had stepped out of bounds on the Western 22 and tacked on a 5 yard delay of game penalty for the Warriors mobbing Donohue in the end zone. But, Western had the ball with 17 seconds left and QB Calvin Clark simply fell on the ball to run out the clock. lt was a thrilling victory and it gave Western the chance to play for the state title at last. Printed remarks by the Gorman coach Dave Gerber about which team was really the best helped fire the Warriors up for the state game. The team hit Reno ready for Wooster. They had to overcome some highly questionable officiating and mistakes to win the game, but the team made a united effort to bring home their first state championship since 1966. Opposite Page. Top. The lierce determination of the defensive line kept Wooster from making a crucial 4th down play. QB John Lucas manages to get a pass off before being hit by Wooster. Coach Smith finally saw the game begin to go his way in spite of some unusual refereeing. Center. Warriors get it together before the big game begins. Teamwork and hard tackling stopped a Wooster runner cold. Steve Donohue is caught by Wooster behind the line of scrimmage. Jesse Cook's brilliant broken field running was an important factor in defeating the Colts. The blocking of the line was one of the deciding factors in determining who was number one. Helmets flew into the air as the final gun sounded with the Warriors on top. Team and coaches look on anxiously while a play is in motion. Bottom, Wooster was determined to stop Jesse. Co-captains Andre Olige and John Lucas listen patiently to the referees explanation ofthe call. Jesse Cook and Pierre Whales collide after a free catch. The Warriors gain still more yardage the hard way. This Page. Top, John Lucas hands off to Cook to start the play. T91

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