Friday, September 9, 2022
After so much planning, it was finally the day that many of us had been looking forward to for over six months.
Today, members of our 1982 Westlake H.S. Warriors Marmonte League Championship football team were gathering to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of that long ago, magical season.
Nearly 30 former Warriors
were in the house!
Actually, we assembled at Westlake Village's The Stonehaus restaurant from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for a social gathering to renew old friendships, catch up on each others lives and revisit some great, shared, and somewhat embellished stories.
This group really liked the now
mostly outlawed hitting part
of the game
Once we were Warriors
Only a four man coaching staff?
This is unheard of these days as most local high schools have Varsity coaching staffs numbering in the double digits.
In this photo we have, from left to right, Defensive Coordinator Dan Murphy, Head Coach George Contreras, Offensive Coordinator Larry Stonebraker and Special Teams Coordinator Andy Andreolli.
On to The Stonehaus . . .
Craig Slavin, Harry Kennedy, Gary McGinnis, Jim Crowley and Brad Ashcraft
Our AMAZING Inside Linebackers
Craig Slavin and Bill Fiander
Craig Campbell still fit into
his 1982 team t-shirt
Brandon Rowe and Dan Siffermann
Still mugging for the cameras
after all of these years
Great group picture taken
early in the gathering
We had players travel to the reunion from Florida, Minnesota, Texas, Washington and from all parts of California as well.
Our time at The Stonehaus for our pre-game social was over, it was now time to drive a few blocks up the road to Westlake H.S. where the 2022 Warriors (1-2) were about to play their first home game of the season against the Birmingham H.S. Patriots (0-3).
Our 1982 squad was going to be introduced to the crowd before the opening kickoff.
A big THANK YOU to Westlake's Head Coach Mark Servé and Athletic Director Carnell Henderson who both enthusiastically embraced the return of our championship to the WHS campus.
We arrived during both teams warm-ups
Mike Berg, Gary Satou, Alvaro Lavin and Harry Kennedy enjoy a spot of
"Warrior Weather"
Because of a hurricane off of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, we had hot, humid weather with lots of light rain showers to add to the ambience.
Alvaro Lavin was prepared for the rain,
Harry Kennedy and Steve Chopp
not so much
Barry Fisher, Jamin McNeil, Scott Winkler observing Harry Kennedy's reaction to the Warrior Weather
The two Halfbacks,
Jamin McNeil and Scott Winkler
Dave Baillie and Bill Costigan
Westlake A.D. Carnell Henderson
welcoming us to the stadium
About to be introduced to the crowd
Our line-up was too wide for Laurie to get us all in in just one photo, so she recorded us for posterity in segments.
How much fun was this?
Yes, we COULD play back in the day!
Brotherhood over the decades
Just a great group of men . . .
. . . enjoying the moment
Still laughing and . . .
. . . enjoying each other's company
Craig Slavin and Jamin McNeil,
our two 1982 team captains,
would toss the coin before the game
The Head Referee explain
the intricacies of flipping a coin
The actual coin flip would not happen for another five minutes, I hope that Craig and Jamin could still remember the ref's instructions.
I know that I didn't.
Still time for more photo ops
DT Dave Baillie and OLB John Martin
I think that both of them could still play for a couple of downs in a Goal Line Stand situation.
Thanking the crowd for their
warm welcome of these WHS Legends
Thank You crowd!
Lined up to welcome the
2022 Warriors onto the field
Lots of smiles and . . .
. . . even more memories being shared
These old geezers still looked good
in their old jerseys and lettermen jackets
Captains out for the coin flip
Our boys looked up to
the challenge
Almost time
Jamin did the actual coin flipping
and reports said that the coin
completed at lest 18 revolutions!
Congratulations on a job well done!
QB Steve Chopp, who famously
worth a neck roll in 1982, being
interviewed by the media
The reporter wanted to know what this return to Westlake H.S. after 40 years meant to this group of men.
Steve did a great job capturing
the mood of the evening
Craig Campbell's period correct
t-shirt captures the early history
of WHS football
Yes, we did indeed handle the
coin flipping duties PERFECTLY!
Dave Bakos and Dan Siffermann
Let's get this game started!
Westlake came out ready to play
The Final Score was Westlake (2-2) 32 - Birmingham (0-4) 12.
The 1982 Marmonte League Champions
tonight and . . .
. . . back in the day!
10 Wins - 2 Losses
1982 Marmonte League Champions
C.I.F. Coastal Conference Quarter-Finalists
8 West Torrance - 21
8 Lompoc - 0
21 Saugus - 6
29 Hueneme - 0
* 23 Channel Islands - 6
* 21 Newbury Park - 0
* 14 Simi Valley - 7
* 51 Camarillo - 28
* 42 Royal - 14
* 37 Thousand Oaks - 0
** 35 San Gabriel - 19
** 19 Oxnard - 20
* Marmonte League Game
** C.I.F. Coastal Conference Playoff Game
What an AWESOME day!
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