Wednesday Oct. 6, marks the 20th anniversary of what is arguably considered California's most significant high school football game of all time — and some have made a case it's the nation's most significant high school football game to date. It was the first ever meeting between the nation's top two ranked teams. This special bonus episode features four guests: Two who coached in the game, one who played in the game and one who reported on the game.
Host Long Beach Poly was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, despite the fact that its opponent, De La Salle-Concord, was entering with a national-record winning streak of 116 games. A few other rankings had it flipped, but still. The game reportedly sold 17,000 tickets and 121 media credentials were issued, which included such publications as Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. A combined nine future NFL players took the field that night (including the player who joined us for this show).
Regular listeners of this podcast are aware that longtime De La Salle assistant coach Terry Eidson is a weekly visitor to our show. And we couldn't let the anniversary pass without seeing if he could roundup some of his closest friends for a chat about the monumental game. He certainly came through. Hosts Chace and Ben welcome legendary Spartans head coach Bob Ladouceur, former De La Salle star QB Matt Gutierrez, one-time De La Salle beat writer for the Contra Costa Times, Joe Stiglich, and of course Coach Eidson.
