Pilot Light Is On Again

The phrase is repeated much like a mantra, an inspirational reminder Wilmington Banning High football players freely recite after victories to anyone who will listen.

“Banning football is back,” running back Chris Howard said emphatically after the Pilots beat Crenshaw on Oct. 16.

“Banning football is back,” repeated wide receiver Mike Cockrell after Banning’s victory over two-time defending City champion San Pedro two weeks later.

Banning, synonymous with championship-caliber teams in the late 1970s and ‘80s, has indeed returned from the abyss of an 0-10 season in 1996 to take its rightful place in the City championship game.

Tonight at the Coliseum, the 10-time champion Pilots (10-3) will play Woodland Hills Taft (11-2), which is appearing in its third consecutive final. Banning is trying to win its first title since 1985.

“The Banning community is coming alive again,” second-year Coach Chris Gutierrez said. “People are showing up out of the woodwork, bringing out old school jackets and patches, things we haven’t seen in years. And the people are wearing them proudly.”

Banning has one of the proudest traditions in City Section football history.

Coaches Gene Vollnogle and Paul Huebner began steering the program toward prominence in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Vollnogle led the Pilots to their first City title in 1958 and their second in 1960. In 1962, Vollnogle took over the program at Carson. Huebner joined him after the 1968 season.

Chris Ferragamo, who had coached Banning’s B team for four years, became the varsity coach in 1969 and piloted Banning for the next 18 years. Banning won eight City titles, including six in a row from 1976 to ’81. Between 1976 and 1985, the Pilots appeared in the championship game every year except 1982.

Running backs Freeman McNeil and Stanley Wilson and quarterbacks Vince Ferragamo and Jamelle Holieway are only a few of the future pros and college players that starred for Banning during those glory years.

Chris Ferragamo coached until 1986, then left to run the football program at Harbor College. Longtime assistant Joe Dominguez took over and Banning advanced to the City final in 1990, but lost to Carson. The Pilots returned in 1991, but lost to Dorsey.

Banning then went through several coaching changes, drifting into mediocrity before ultimately reaching its low point two years ago with the winless season.

Enter Gutierrez, a 1984 Banning graduate who spent four years in the Marines before earning his college degree and teaching credential. Gutierrez, 32, was hired as an English teacher and frosh-soph coach in 1995. He was elevated to varsity coach before last season and brought his entire staff--all Banning graduates and all under 32--along with him.

“When I got the frosh-soph job, my first goal was to revive the traditions that I remembered from when I went to Banning,” said Gutierrez, who played on the junior varsity. “Friday was game day. The school announcements were about football. Players wear ties. All those things create school spirit and make people proud to be a part of something.

“The students and community have really responded to what we’ve been doing on and off the field.”

Ferragamo, who is out of coaching but still teaches science at Banning, agrees.

“The enthusiasm is back,” he said. “These young coaches were brought up in the right tradition, and they’ve kind of escorted these players from the frosh-soph to the varsity.

“They’re enthusiastic and committed. They’ve rekindled the flame.”

Banning began its journey back to prominence last season when the Pilots advanced to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

This season, Banning traveled to Hawaii for its opener. The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many players, but the distractions that surrounded the game took away from the Pilots’ performance. Banning lost to Kahuku High, 41-14.

Not exactly the way to start a championship season.

Or was it?

“We lost that game and didn’t play as well as we were capable of, but the camaraderie that developed during that trip, the looking out for one another, is something we’re still benefiting from,” Gutierrez said.

Banning’s second game was against Taft, which was playing its season opener. The Toreadors had several key players back from teams that lost twice to San Pedro in the City championship game.

But Howard returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown and the Pilots were on their way to a 41-13 victory.

“It could have been much worse--it could have been anything they wanted it to be,” Taft Coach Troy Starr said. “After the game I told our bus driver, ‘Hurry up and get that bus up here before they score again.’ ”

The next week, Banning played defending Southern Section champion Long Beach Poly. The Pilots lost, 35-34, but the message was clear: Banning football was back.

The Pilots went on to tie for the Southern Pacific Conference title, losing only to Dorsey. Banning blitzed Roosevelt in its playoff opener, then beat Sylmar and Granada Hills en route to the final.

As a tribute to its past, Banning players will arrive at the Coliseum tonight not in rented school buses, but in chartered coaches.

“The kids asked, ‘What for?’ ” Gutierrez said. “We told them, ‘That’s just the way it is. It’s a championship-game tradition. It’s Banning.’ ”

City Section Championship

When: Tonight

Time: 8 p.m.

Where: Coliseum

Teams: Banning (10-3) vs. Taft (11-2)