Teams’ Achievements Boost Civic Pride : First Title in 3 Decades Polishes Pride, Lifts Spirits in South Gate

Had it been a normal Friday, four South Gate High School students would have spent the evening dishing out frozen desserts at Dianna Winnor’s Towne Yogurt.

But last Friday was not normal.

Winnor allowed the four students to abandon their duties and join thousands of other South Gate residents attending the Big Game on Friday night between South Gate and Westchester.

“I decided to let the younger generation go and have fun,” Winnor said.

South Gate won the game, 13-9, and with it the Los Angeles Unified School District’s City 3-A Division title. It was the school’s first football championship in three decades, and one that has polished the city’s pride and lifted its spirits.

“This is really beneficial to the school and community,” Councilman William DeWitt said. “We hear enough about the gangs and violence, but this is very positive.”

“This doesn’t happen too often,” said Winnor, who graduated from the school in 1962. “It hasn’t happened since 1955.”

Winnor, along with husband Arnie, daughter Cindy and business partner Nick Velko, contributed $750 to rent the float that the football team rode in the city’s 43rd annual Christmas parade last Sunday.

“It Felt Good Doing It”

“It seemed like the right thing to do,” Winnor said. “We are all from South Gate. We graduated from there. It felt good doing it.”

The mostly working-class community, which was primarily Anglo in the 1950s and today is predominantly Latino, has always had a lot of pride in itself, said former City Councilman Henry Gonzalez. “This has always been a close-knit community,” said Gonzalez, president of the school’s football booster club. “We’re so proud of the team. They put the community on the map.”

Some school officials say team members failed to get the media attention they deserved as they piled up a city record-setting 14 wins and no losses.

“They said we were too small, too slow and did not score big enough, but we took the negatives and turned them into positives,” said Gary Cordray, head football coach.

South Gate High is on a year-round system but still is overcrowded, with a total enrollment of about 3,200 students. The school was built to accommodate about 1,700. More than 400 other local students are bused daily to other schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District to relieve overcrowding.

Because the year-round system requires that a third of the student body be out of class at any one time, many of the players had to give up vacation time to participate in football.

“The team overcame a lot of hurdles,” said Shirley Shelly, the high school’s college counselor who has been at the school 31 years. “Everyone, the students, faculty and the community, is proud of the team. It was like a reunion at the (championship) game. I saw students who graduated from the school 10 or 15 years ago.”

Coach Cordray said he was even introduced to a 1939 graduate of the school at the game, which was played at El Camino College near Gardena.

Quarterback on ’82 Team

Two more recent graduates in attendance were Kevin and Scott Pearson, twins who graduated from the school in 1982. The Pearson family has deep roots in the school’s athletic history. Kevin was the quarterback on the 1982 team that lost to Locke High School in a semifinal game. Both Scott and Kevin were baseball players.

Douglas Pearson, the twins’ father, caught the winning touchdown 33 years ago when South Gate beat North Hollywood High, 7-0, for its only other city football championship. The Pearson family still lives in South Gate.

“I had not attended a game in 4 years, but like everybody else, I jumped on the bandwagon when the team started winning,” said Kevin. His father was unable to attend the game.

Maria Gonzalez, a ninth-grader and member of the drill team, said she was so excited at times during the game that she cried.

Principal Raul Moreno said there was “standing room only at a couple of games held at the school stadium” earlier in the year. The stadium holds about 2,000 and was sold out almost every game, Moreno said.

In addition to honoring the team in the Christmas parade, football boosters have postponed the football banquet from January to March, Gonzalez said, so supporters will have more time to find a place large enough for the team and the expected crowd.

Gonzalez said he also plans to start a campaign to raise money to buy championship rings for the team.

South Gate Mayor Del Snavely said the high school team and coaching staff have been invited to City Hall on Jan. 9, when a proclamation will be issued in their honor.

Meanwhile, many South Gate football players and students continue to bask in their moment of glory. During lunch period Friday, the players will be honored at a pep rally.

“We were underdogs all season and we won,” said Patrick Pendleton, 17, a 6-2, 235 offensive tackle. “It is incredible to see the community and the school so happy.”

“It makes you feel good coming here,” said Rosa Zavala, a 16-year-old junior.