1974 State Champions to Celebrate 50th Anniversary
by Mario Villegas, ELAC Historian
(photos given by various members of the 1974 team)
The Watergate hearings would lead to Richard M. Nixon becoming the first President in U.S. history to resign from office, the Oil Crisis led to long lines at gas stations, the Rubik cube was invented and the Dodgers were driving to their first National League pennant in seven years... those stories were in the headlines in the late summer of 1974 as the ELAC football team quietly started fall practice. The Huskies started the season under the radar, but they made huge headlines when it was over in what was truly a season for the ages.
Their story was one that could rival the story of baseball's 1969 "Amazing Mets." The Huskies virtually came out of nowhere as they went from last to first in 1974, the season culminating with ELAC winning its first and only state championship.
In 1973, the Huskies, under new Coach Al Padilla, were a disappointing 1-9. Down and frustrated, but not discouraged, Padilla and his staff went to work. The late Gil Rozadilla, the Huskies' defensive coordinator, said they were determined to get the program back on the winning track. It started with recruiting. "We had a good core of returning players to build with, but we needed more," he said. "We went out and brought in some good players and some players that we could develop."
One of the new recruits was Lynn Cain, a little-known running back from Roosevelt High School who quickly made a name for himself. Cain had used all of his high school eligibility by the time he was 16 years old and didn't play any sports his senior year. "Roosevelt Coach Ray McClean said we were getting a very good player in Lynn Cain, and he couldn't have been more right," Padilla recalled. By the time Cain arrived at ELAC he had grown three inches and had added 25 pounds to his frame. Cain, who played fullback in the Huskies' potent veer-T offense, stood 6-foot-1, 205 pounds and used his speed, power and balance to run through defenses and help lead them from rags to riches. By the time the season ended Cain had gone from virtual obscurity to one of the most sought after JC players by major four-year colleges. He was named the California Community College Player of the Year and the Southern California Conference Most Valuable Player. He rushed for a conference record 1,385 yards and scored 19 touchdowns during the regular season. But 1974 was the only season Cain played at ELAC as Coach John McKay successfully recruited him to USC. Cain was the starting fullback on the Trojans' 1978 National Championship team and played on two Rose Bowl winning teams. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1979 and spent six seasons with them. He played for the Rams in 1985 before retiring.
Quarterback Walt Ransom was a story unto himself: he was 24 when he reported to practice, and had just switched to football after having played baseball in the Boston Red Sox minor leagues for several seasons. Ransom, the Red Sox first round draft selection in 1968 out of South Gate High School, was among the first players to take advantage of a new NCAA rule that permitted student athletes to play professionally, but retain their amateur status in other sports. He was also an outstanding football player at South Gate, earning All L.A. City Section first team honors. Padilla, who was the coach at Garfield High School before moving to ELAC, knew all about Ransom's football skills having coached against the South Gate teams he played on. Ransom transferred to USC after the 1975 season.
Halfback Alvin Fike was another freshman standout for the Huskies who transferred to Long Beach State after his sophomore season. Ransom's primary targets were Rudy Munguia, Tony Armendariz, Wayne Brown and Kenny Pierce. Pierce would go on to play in the Canadian Football League and later in the NFL. The Huskies were led up front on the offensive line primarily by center Frank Orozco, guards Ben Rivera, Jim Andrada and Cesar Saenz, and tackles Harold Rodgers and Danny Long. Rodgers, Rivera and Orozco were all-conference players. Tight end David Patapoff was all-conference.
The Huskies used an attacking defense that was fast, quick and aggressive to limit their opponents to only 170 points in 12 games, an average of 14.2 points per game. The secondary was a star-studded unit bolstered by sophomore safety Mike Davis, who would later be a mainstay on two Super Bowl winning teams for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. He also starred at the University of Colorado, where he played in the Orange Bowl game. Besides Davis, the Huskies also had sophomore David Gray and freshmen Kerry Justin and Ken Starling. Gray (Houston Oilers, Seattle Seahawks) and Justin (Seattle Seahawks) would also go on to play in the NFL. Freshman defensive end Ed Gutierrez was the leader up front on the line. The unit also consisted of tackles Lorenzo Esparza, Richard Torres, and ends Wayne James and Mike Grimstead. The outside linebackers were Paul Moya and Danny Garrett and the inside linebackers were Mark Duckworth and Rick Gamboa. Gutierrez was one of seven defensive players to make the all-conference team. He was joined by Esparza, Torres, Moya, Duckworth, Davis and Gray. He transferred to USC after his sophomore season and played on the Trojans' 1977 Rose Bowl champion team, and made all conference the following year.
"The reason why we had a great team wasn't because of my great coaching," Padilla said. "We had some great players, it's as simple as that. We had five players go on to play in the NFL and several go on to play major college." The Huskies also had great chemistry. "The wonderful thing about this team like Mike Davis has said, was the ethnic diversity we had," Padilla said. "We had players from throughout the area. My job was to put them together and you could say that we were like a family. It was nice. That's why we were successful." The team has held a number of reunions over the years with the most recent one coming last year when Padilla and his players were honored by the ELAC Alumni Association during the association's annual Homecoming Celebration prior to ELAC's game versus Mt. San Antonio College. The association presented the players and coaches with state championship rings to commemorate their great success. Mike Garrett, the former Heisman Trophy winner at USC and NFL standout, joined the '74 Huskies in honoring Padilla, who was his "B" team coach at Roosevelt High School in 1959. As a sidenote, Gamboa and Cain returned to ELAC years later as coaches: Gamboa was head coach from 1998 to 2004, guiding the Huskies to the CHiPs for Kids Bowl in 2000. Cain was head coach from 2007 to 2011 and led the Huskies to the American Mountain Conference title and a 42-28 victory over Santa Monica in the American Division Championship Bowl.
The 1974 season started promising, but quickly hit a lull. The Huskies opened with an impressive 27-21 victory at Fresno City College. They played L.A. Valley College to a 14-14 tie the next week and then lost to Cerritos, 9-7. The loss to Cerritos was frustrating because a penalty negated what would have been the winning touchdown. Padilla and his staff were able to right the ship quickly, however and the Huskies relied on their defense to do it, as they scored a tough 10-3 victory over Los Angeles City College in the Southern California Conference opener. Cain's 90-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter broke a 3-3 tie and gave ELAC the win over the defending state champions. The Huskies never looked back as they reeled off six consecutive victories, defeating Rio Hondo (21-14), Cypress (28-20), L.A. Southwest (41-8), Santa Monica (43-20), L.A. Harbor (21-7) and Golden West (34-26) to win the conference title outright.
It set the stage for a showdown between undefeated Pasadena City College, the Metropolitan Conference champion, and ELAC to meet in a regional playoff game at Pasadena. The winner would win the right to represent Southern California in the Shrine Potato Bowl game at Bakersfield College's Memorial Stadium for the state championship. ELAC and Pasadena played to a 14-14 tie, but overtime periods were not played in that era. The Huskies were awarded the victory because they had more total yards than the Lancers. The Huskies nearly doubled the Lancers' total, gaining 400 to their 231. Cain, who had 156 yards on 30 rushing carries, provided the late-game heroics again. With his team down 14-7 in the fourth quarter, Cain caught a short pass from Ransom and raced 58 yards to the Pasadena 5-yard line to set up the tying score, which he ran in two plays later.
In the Shrine Potato Bowl, Ransom ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as ELAC defeated San Jose City College, 33-14. The Huskies from the outset left no doubt who was best in the state as they rolled to a 27-0 halftime lead. An early interception by Garrett set up their first score, which came on Ransom's 14-yard touchdown run. The Huskies drove 75 yards for their next score that ended with Fike scoring from a yard out. The defense came up with another San Jose turnover on a fumble recovery by Starling at midfield. Cain scored eight players later to extend the Huskies lead. San Jose responded with its best drive of the night, but the Huskies' defense hunkered down and stopped the Jaguars on downs at the ELAC 24. Ransom's 51-yard pass completion to Brown set up his 12-yard touchdown pass to Munguia, and it was 27-0 Huskies at the half. Taking advantage of two second-half turnovers, San Jose crept back into the game, cutting the Huskies' lead to 27-14. But a six-yard touchdown run by Ransom ultimately closed the door on San Jose City, ensuring ELAC its improbable state title.
The Huskies will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their beloved 1974 State Championship on Saturday September 28th. Festivities will be held in the ELAC Garden beginning at 3:30pm, admission price TBA. This will be prior to the present-day Huskies hosting Golden West College at 6pm.
Hosting this celebration on the day ELAC plays GWC is fitting because the Huskies beat Golden West during the championship season.