VENTURA COUNTY HALL OF FAME : Davis Got to Channel His Energy : Football: He coached league champions at Hueneme and Oxnard in 21 seasons in the county.

Jack Davis holds a record for coaching 21 years of high school football in the Channel League. His career in Ventura County began in 1965 when he took over at Hueneme High after three seasons at Imperial High.

In 1979 Davis became the football coach at Oxnard, where his record was 135-89-7 in 14 seasons.

“One of my biggest moments as a coach was in 1969 at Hueneme,” Davis said. “Hueneme won its first and only Channel League title at Santa Barbara.

“I remember how we beat them, 14-7, and held them for four downs inside the one-yard line.”

In 1982, his Oxnard team went 11-2 and won the league title before advancing to the semifinals of the Southern Section playoffs.

“That was another career highlight,” Davis said. “We beat Westlake, 21-19, in the quarterfinals in Thousand Oaks. We had been down, 19-6, in the first half. What a great comeback.”

In ‘86, Oxnard finished 10-1 and captured the league title.

Davis, who will be inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, coached his son Joe at Hueneme from 1969-72. Joe was a quarterback who passed for 3,763 yards and 38 touchdowns. He later became an assistant under his father.

“It was great coaching my son,” Davis said. “At the time there were four other coaches in the league with sons playing for them, so it was a unique bonding.”

In ‘72, Davis coached the California prep all-stars to a 21-0 victory over all-stars from Hawaii at the Aloha Senior Football Classic at Honolulu Stadium.

When the Raiders moved their training camp to Oxnard, Davis became facilities director and also organized security for the team.

Davis, 62, retired from coaching at the end of the ’92 season and moved back to his hometown of Poteau, Okla., with his wife, Barbara.

“Of course I miss coaching,” he said. “Those were the happiest days of my life and I’ve had many happy moments. I also miss Ventura. I lived there 23 years and it’s still like home.”

Davis was an offensive guard and defensive end at Oklahoma and Arizona. He graduated from Arizona in 1957, and in 1959 earned a master’s degree in education.