Alcala 1958

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• Th e 91 -ya rd pun t-ret urn tou chd own by Ed Bunsi cag ain stMe xic oPo lyt ech nic . • The 61 -yard touchd ownpa ss fromVa lde z to Bob "Grea sedLi gh tni ng "Ke ye sag ain st the Bar stow Ma rin es. • Endman C. G. Wa lker 's cir cus cat ch of Va lde z'pas s for our lone tou chdownag ain st Montana St ate . • Tac kle Charl ie Fra nkl in's undaun ted defen se ag ai ns t the he av yweig hts of the Ma rine Corp s Re cru it De pot . • Full back Ru dy Rudzi nsk i'sbr uis ing fly­ in g tackles of pre sumptuousPep per din ers . At sea son 's clo se, Qua rterback Va lde z and Ta ckl e Joh n Mu lligan were vot ed by the nat ion 's top coa ches and new smen to the 19 57 Ca tho lic All -Am erican foo tba ll team. Du rin gthe season the pa ssi ng com­ bin ati onof Va lde zto Wal ker ear ned wee kly recogn itio nby the Na tiona lCol legi ateAth­ let ic Burea u. An d Va lde z' 44 .3 pu nting av era gewas in the top fiv e amongthe sma ll col leg es of the na tio n. Mu lligan als o won the Gil Kuhn Aw ard fo r the bes t all- aro und pla yer . End- of- sea son award s for bes t linema n an d best back wen t to Cen ter Jack Ga rofo no an d Ha lfback Av alo nWr igh t. Of course , 19 57 foo tba ll was n't all rose s. Th ere wer e some thorns . Th ere were inc i­ den ts that wer en't fun ny at the tim e. Just befor e the op en ing gam e it was n't fun ny for the pla ye rsand the coa che sto ha ve to set up the ble ach ers and lin e Lane Fie ld. And it cer tai nly wasn't fun ny us ing a crowded bu s fo r a ha lfti me dre ssi ng room at Ar izona St ate and tak ing col d sho we rs in the Wome n'sGymnasiumaft er the game . Th ese we re gr ow ing pa ins . In year s to com e, the 19 57 Pi on ee rswill look back and lau gh and stro ke their gr ay beards an d rememb er wh en, as the y wat ch their Wes t Coas t Iri sh ch ild ren. o n ic st i o l echnic. • The 61-yard touchdown pass from Valdez e se t ing" s st t ri es. • Endman C. G. Walker's circus catch of l z' l o st t . l lie li 's nted defense st y eights Marine Corps Recruit Depot. s i's i ing . l ptuous diners. 's , uarterback Val z and Tackle John Mulligan were voted by i n's top coaches and newsmen t lic rican l . i g g • tion l z t l ition tional te - i u. z' . ti ge g ll l es ti n. l i . . s n f no l ac l n i t. , l s. s. i- t e. e ing e rs s ers l . t inly ' i g e l i e dressing i i rs 's asi m . ing i . s e, e rs er , ren. rd r

• To the Boo sters ' Club for their fai th in US D and thei r fre eway- alumn ispi rit of coo per atio n, counse land vic ari ou s conso ­ lat ion . • To the 18,00 0studen tsan d fan ati cswho watc hed the Pio nee rs'fou r home gam esand che ere d the team on to vic tor yand def eat . And the Un ive rsi ty is ind ebt ed to the Pio ne ers for an ave rag e 26 -1 5 wi nn ing sco re, a seas on' stota l of 23 4point sto 13 5. The Pi on eer swon their fir st two gam es, comi ng from two tou chd owns beh ind to bea t the Bars tow Ma rine s20 -1 3on open ing nig ht and then las hin g Pomo na Coll ege 40 -7 thr ee wee ks late r. In betwee n came a las hin g from Ari zona Sta te (F lag sta ff) 40 -6 and a win tery blas t from Mon tana Sta te 21 -7. US D' s ben ch thi nne ss was mo re noti ce­ ab le in the 41 -0 pa sting by the Ma rine Corp s Rec ruit De po t than in an y oth er gam e. The Pio nee rs'205 -po undend -to-e nd lin e had to giv e aw ay 10 pounds per man to the Lea ther neck s, and a second- qua rter inj ur y to star qua rterbac k Ve rn Val dez did n't help an y. At mid sea sonpo int , the Pi onee rs'reco rd was 2-3 . From ther e on the y ne ver look ed bac k, win nin g their last fou r gam es in a row . Th ey cru she d Camp Pend let on54 -0, then flew sou th of the bo rde r to sad den 60 ,000 tumultu ous fan s in Mex ico City 's eno rmous Olymp ic Sta diu m. On suc ces siv e Sa tur days the Pi on ee rsene rva ted Me xic o Cit y's two pow erh ous es: Unive rsi ty of Mexic o27 -13and Mexic oPo lyt echn ic 53 -0. The last gam e of the sea son was some­ what of a grudge fight . Pe pperd inehad bea ten San Die go State, and San Di eg o Sta te had been un abl e or un som eth ingto fit USD int o its sch edule. So USD trou nced Pep perdin e27- 0. Am ong many mag ic mome nts dur ing the 19 57 sea son , the se we re moments to rem ember : y-alumni i ation, counsel ious - i . 0 ts tics rs' es y t. i rsity e ers e 5 ing , 's l s t . eers es, g o ns i t i s - 3 i g i g a s . n i g t F staff) t . 's s re - l i i s i t e. rs' nd ds necks, - rter y t k . son , rs' . , i g es . leton , r , lt ous s ico 's s Olympic i . sive days e rs ted i o ' ouses: rsity o 2 - 3 o l echnic . e - . erdine o t le ething e ule. c i e 2 . g ic nts i , ts ber:

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