It would be fair to say that ambivalent aptly describes my feelings about the Bullpups' loss to El Diamante earlier this month in Visalia. After 34 years, Hanford High School fielded a team with the ability and talent to break the long-standing 10-0 regular season record set by the 1974 team. Unfortunately for some of my former students, Nic Huerta, Javante Farmah, and DJ Jackson-Maciel, an undefeated regular season has eluded them. I had the privilege and honor of teaching these fine young men their sophomore year. (Ike Thomas, Kevin Dias and Al Casarez).

As I do with most athletes who enter my room, I challenged their commitment to excellence and their desire to succeed. "You're soft. How much do you bench press? Don't tell me you want to win if you're not lifting during the off season. Leaders pick their teammates up, not put them down. Leaders don't cry over a bad play. They pat the guy on the rump and encourage him to get the next one." (Rick Basmajian, George Skaggs and Joe Lugo).

Of course, the standard for football excellence, in my opinion, was set in 1974, when guys like Danny Coulon, Jewerl Thomas, and Mike Richwine roamed the gridiron in Bullpup colors. It was a special time and a special team. (Jack Feaver, Richard Faruzzi and Jewerl Thomas).

Our new coach, Glenn "Duffy" Dufour, came to us from San Dimas High with a truck load of new ideas and attitudes about football and academic excellence. He challenged us on and off the field to do our best, and he told us we could succeed beyond the high school level. (Victor Perez, Rick Bettencourt and Mark Alexander).

I can remember him having our helmets painted that sinister black and thinking how cool they were. But that was just the beginning. He also ordered red teams shirts - not jerseys - to be worn around school on game days. I was so proud to wear that shirt. Before all home games, we'd have a feast, sponsored by the Boosters, in Coach Dufour's backyard. Man, that was some good eatin', and it didn't end there. (Rick Grenz, Charles Butler and Johnny Cotton).

On Monday nights, he'd invite 5 or so players to have dinner with him and his wife and watch the Monday night football game. I was honored to be invited into his home and couldn't get over how someone as dumpy as him could catch someone as cute and compassionate as Mrs. Dufour. Despite her being a Tiger - she taught at Lemoore - she was still kind to 'Pups. (Danny Coulon, Victor Davis and Bob Withrow).

Dufour was a motivator. After every game, the player of the game was given a Courgar XJ7 (Courtesy of Frontier Ford) to drive around Hanford for the weekend. In addition to this, outstanding plays were rewarded with silver-star helmet decals, which made us feel like studs with a capital "S". (Mark Nardini, Tony Robbins and Mike Richwine).

Perhaps Dufour's greatest motivational strategy was to take us, again in groups of five or six, up to watch Chuck Muncie and the Cal Bears play on Saturdays. He would sit in the stands next to us and tell us how we could be down there on the field one day. He would tell us how important good grades were to our success and going to the next level. He not only told us we could succeed, but he showed us what success looked like. (Steve Smith).

I remember the time he brought in a video tape of the Dallas Cowboys working out in a weight room. I can still remember talking with Big Bird (David Smith) or Jewerl about how I wanted to be buffed like the Dallas Cowboy players and how hard I was going to work at it. Needless to say, Coach Dufour supported our ambitions. He gave us the key to weight room in the old gym, and we'd go in and train at 6 a.m. (Joe Dias, Mark Lee and Mike Mullins).

When the wars with Sanger, Reedley and Lemoore came, we were ready, inspired by our new coach's faith, optimism and innovation. We knew what he wanted and what he had done and would do for us. There was nothing that coach Dufour could have asked that we wouldn't have tried to do for him. (Jay Paulson, Johnny Lawrence and Jim Moore).

For the Sanger game, he installed a 3-3 stack defense and gave the standing lineman the option of which gap to shoot. I thought this was so awesome. It made me feel like our coach was brilliant. We used it most of the first half, which ended in a scoreless tie. Sanger was loaded. They had two backs who ran in the low 10's in the hundred yard dash and both weighed more than 190 pounds. Fortunately for us, Bob Bernal was injured. (Mike Silva, Henry Valdez and Ken Dias).

The game was intense. When Jewerl broke free down the Sanger sideline on his way to a touchdown, a Sanger player dove from their bench, causing Jewerl to hurdle him, and he was caught from behind. We were livid that the referee didn't give us the touchdown. The game remained scoreless well into the second half, when Mark Lee intercepted a Sanger pitch out on our five-yard line and raced 95 yards for the touchdown. The final score was 6-0 Hanford (Lee Tos, Jim Pardieu and David Smith).

The Reedley game was just as intense. I vaguely remember thinking, and perhaps the team did as well, that Reedley wouldn't be a tough game. Even though Danny Coulon (flu) and Jewerl (injured big toe) weren't scheduled to play, I thought we could handle Reedley easily. It wasn't until we were down by a touchdown or two at halftime that we all realized our undefeated season was at stake and Reedley was a very good football team. (Chirs Knight, manager).

Jewerl and Danny came out of the stands and suited up during halftime, and we battled to a 21-19 victory in the mud and slush of the Reedley stadium. (Bob Jiminez, receivers and DB's).

The war with Lemoore still brings vivid memories to mind. Before the age of political correctness and law suit madness, people sat along the dirt banks of what was affectionately called the Dustbowl. We had no all-weather track. That night, a capacity crowd watched a titanic struggle from the dirt banks of the Neighbor Bowl. (Doug Fesler, lineman).

It was early in the game and speedster Charles Palmer had broken loose along the west sideline. I was a few yards behind Mark Lee as he closed on Palmer, hitting him in his right thigh and sending him somersaulting into the air. It was a spectacular hit and helped set the tone for the game. Jewerl would later put the smack down on Chester Gardener, and we would eventually win the war in the trenches against a Lemoore line that averaged between 250 to 270 pounds

The game came down to the wire. Lemoore was in the red zone, close to the five yard line. They tried our left side to tie or take the lead with time running out. We held, and, after 34 years, we are still holding, and I'm immensely proud of that fact. (Glenn "Duffy" Dufour, head coach).

I went to a birthday party for a 75-year-old friend recently and got a chance to reminisce with Isaiah "Ike" Thomas about that historic season. As always, it brought smiles to our faces and warmed our hearts. You see, Ike and I never went on to play college or pro ball like Jewerl (LA Rams) and Mark Lee (Green Bay Packers), so our last football memories at Hanford High School hold a special place in our hearts. I wanted Nic, Janvante, Paul, Matthew and DJ to have special memories of that Friday night, even if it meant breaking the record set by the '74 team members mentioned on this page. Thanks guys.

Billy Thomas, a former Hanford High School athlete, is a teacher at HHS and adviser to the school's chess club.

(Nov. 27, 2008)