Glendale, Hoover high football alums talk about tradition

Throughout the years, the cross-town high school football rivalry game between Glendale and Hoover has seen many variations.

It’s been billed as the “Battle for the Victory Bell” and “The Big Game” along with “Battle of the Ages” and has been played not only at Moyse Field, but also at the Rose Bowl and Occidental College.

While titles and venues come and go, the feeling around the game has remained constant despite generations adding a different spin or tradition.

Before Glendale and Hoover oppose each other for the 86th time, here are some thoughts and memories from former Nitros and Tornadoes.

PREGAME HYPE

The pats on the back and the compliments began for Glendale High senior Steve Haas three days before his Nitros took the field for the 1996 classic versus Hoover.

That morning the wide receiver was the subject of a sports front-page feature in his local newspaper, but wasn’t quite aware of that until informed by students, neighbors and teammates.

“Everyone kept telling me they loved the article or that I was in the paper, so I ran to find a copy,” Haas said. “It took me a while to finally get a copy and I got a bunch.”

Apparently, the opposing Tornadoes also grabbed a few issues.

“I was told that my picture was plastered all over their locker room,” Haas said. “There was already a lot of pressure on me and that just took it to another level.”

On Friday, the hype didn’t seem to affect Haas or quarterback Jeremy Callister, who hooked up with his receiver on scoring pass plays of 82 and 79 yards en route to a monster game for both players.

By the end of the night, Haas had set Glendale rivalry records as he finished with 11 catches for 241 yards, both single-game bests.

Despite Haas’ heroics, the night had a deflated feel for the Glendale senior as Hoover proved too tough in a 48-34 win.

“That night, Jeremy and I were on the same page,” Haas said. “We were just on fire, but it’s hard to pat yourself on the back with a loss on the field.”

ROUGH START

“I expected to have a great game,” said former Hoover running back Shaun Kermah. “There was a lot of pressure from the community and the school to win the game and we felt like this was our year.”

Kermah entered the 2004 game as the Glendale-area’s leading rusher with 1,254 yards on the ground and hoped to deliver the Tornadoes the program’s first rivalry win of the new millennium.

Prospects weren’t exactly high given Glendale defeated Hoover by combined score of 59-8 the previous two years, but Hoover did enter with a slightly better record of 2-7, versus a 1-8 mark for Glendale.

Yet, all those numbers went right out the door, at least for Kermah on his team’s first possession.

“I think it was on the first or second play of the game that I fumbled,” Kermah said. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘Not here, not now.’ I was a little rattled, but I kept going.”

Kermah did more than simply redeem himself that night, rushing for 208 yards on 23 carries, the most by a Hoover High back versus Glendale in history, with three touchdowns in what was a 42-28 victory for the Tornadoes.

The win wasn’t just the first for the Tornadoes over the Nitros since 1999, but the triumph also snapped a Tornadoes’ 24-game Pacific League losing streak.

“It’s 10 years later and I still remember how big that game was that night,” Kermah said. “With so many distractions out there and pregame stuff, the best advice [head coach] Dennis Hughes gave us was to do our job and stick to our assignments.”

FINALLY WINNING

While Glendale holds a decided advantage versus Hoover, there was a time when the Nitros were in need of wins.

Cue to 1990, or the senior season for Glendale fullback Hector Maya.

Over the previous seven seasons leading up to 1990, Hoover had won five of seven contests on the field with one forfeit in 1985.

“It was one of those memorable games because I entered having never beaten Hoover,” Maya said. “It was a strange feeling too, because we were undefeated and Hoover was struggling, but there was so much emotion and pressure in having to beat them.

“We had already beat two great teams in Pasadena and Muir, but it wouldn’t have meant anything without beating Hoover.”

Maya turned in a whale of an effort in contributing four touchdowns in a 35-6 rout of Hoover that clinched the Nitros their first-ever Pacific League championship and a 10-0 regular season.

Maya punched in three scores on the ground of three, six and 16 yards, while also returning a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“I’ll be honest and say the touchdowns kind of caught me by surprise,” Maya said. “In those days, you weren’t as focused on individual stats, it was more about the team doing well.”

SAVING THE DAY/YEAR

Much of Hoover’s success in the mid-to-late 1980s was due to Robert Clarizio.

Even in off years for the Tornadoes, they were still formidable in the rivalry game, including in 1989.

That year, Clarizio, a senior linebacker, intercepted a pass just past midfield with 50 seconds remaining to secure the Tornadoes a 20-14 upset win over Glendale.

“It was a very big, very exciting day overall,” Clarizio said. “I don’t remember too much from that game, other than that we were ahead by a touchdown and I got to make the game-saving interception. A rivalry-game interception, you don’t get much bigger than that.”

The pick was the second of the day for Clarizio, whose final interception did two things.

The first direct outcome was the elimination of Glendale (4-6) from postseason consideration.

An added bonus was that the victory was the first that season for 1-9 Hoover.

“Hey, it’s like they always say,” Clarizio said. “Any time you beat Glendale, you’ve just saved your season.”

THAT SINKING FEELING

After 51 years, Glendale High graduate Wayne Sink still grits his teeth when he talks about the rivalry.

“Let’s just say it’s a sore subject,” Sink said. “I was a part of that game for three years, three years and we never beat Hoover. My only salvation is that I do have the distinction of having one of the longest runs in the history of the game.”

Sink, a fullback and linebacker, was referring to the 1953 game played at the Rose Bowl and his 71-yard touchdown dash, which is the second-longest run for a Nitro versus Hoover and was only eclipsed by a 90-yard scamper from Rick Houle in 1970.

Despite that touchdown run, Glendale still fell to Hoover, 20-14, in 1953. The loss came after Nitros’ defeats of 6-0 and 26-7 in Sink’s sophomore and junior years, respectively, after the San Diego native and his family moved north.

Sink could have very easily been a three-time winner, however, if his loyalty wasn’t shaped by his experience in San Diego.

“Right before my family moved to Glendale, my mother asked me where I wanted to go to school, if I wanted to go to Glendale High or Glendale Hoover High,” Sink said. “Well, in San Diego there’s a big rivalry between San Diego High and San Diego Hoover High. My brother and I both were both loyal to San Diego High and told our mother not to rent a house in the Hoover district. The rest is history.”

BROWN LEFT FEELING BLUE

Google some of the great upsets in the history of the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford football rivalry, otherwise known as “The Big Game,” and it’s likely Kevin Brown’s name will pop up.

In 1986, Brown and his Golden Bears upset 21-point favorite Stanford, 17-11, in Brown’s only start the entire season.

The feeling of beating a heated rival had previously eluded Brown, a Hoover High graduate, as the three-year quarterback and his Tornadoes dropped games in 1979 (27-8), 1980 (28-0) and 1981 (15-14).

“My sophomore and junior years, we weren’t very good,” Brown said. “But that senior year, it felt like that was our year and to have not got a win, to go 0-3, it’s disappointing and to be honest, it’s not something I have forgot.”

While Hoover went to the postseason and Glendale stayed home, Brown still remembers the one that got away.

“That one hurt to be honest,” he said. “But I learned about rivalries with Hoover-Glendale and it helped me later on.”

POSTGAME

A week after his team’s defeat to Hoover, Haas received word from his coaching staff that the Tornadoes had forfeited.

“It was a strange feeling because they had an ineligible player and I remember the guy,” Haas said. “They really didn’t even need him, so the forfeit wasn’t really any consolation.”

Haas, 35, runs Boss Haas Entertainment, a management company specializing in artist development based out of Los Angeles.

Haas took to entertainment after a few short tenures in semi-professional football.

“I’ve never lost the itch and I really feel like I can still play,” Haas said. “That Glendale-Hoover game is really special and the community supports it. When I think about the game, I sometimes wish I was still suiting up.”

Kermah, 27, is now a minister at the Fresh Anointment Evangelical Church in Van Nuys and has some words of advice for Friday’s participants.

“Be confident in yourself and your team and know your responsibilities,” Kermah said. “Feed off each and the energy that’s out there and use that energy in a positive way.”

Maya, 42, lives in Santa Clarita, but speaks to the Nitros on occasion and works locally with AT&T in Glendale.

His immediate goal would be to enroll back at Emporia State University in Kansas, where he finished out his college football playing days just a little short of graduating.

“I want to see if I can finish online because that would mean a lot to me,” said Maya, whose step-son Gabriel Ruelas plays at Alemany. “Ultimately, I would like to get back into coaching. I did that briefly years ago and it’s a passion that’s never gone away.”

Clarizio, 42, has remained active in football locally, having created the Glendale Tornados youth football team along with his brother Andre.

Clarizio has done this all while juggling his primary job as proprietor of Clarizio Chiropractic in Arcadia.

“Football is special to me and I love being associated with Hoover,” said Clarizio, whose step-son Julian Talamantes will take part in Friday’s game. “The game’s changed for sure, but the excitement and the meaning are the same.”

Brown, 50, is a managing partner with Jackson Square Partners in San Francisco and handles stock portfolios and pensions. While Brown had short stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams, he decided to continue his education and received his MBA from UCLA in 1995.

“I loved coaching, don’t get me wrong,” Brown said. “But I realized that if I wanted to do that at the college level, I’d have to settle for a vagabond lifestyle. School worked for me and it’s been nice working in the financial sector.”

Sink, 78, a retired former 37-year coach at Birmingham High, still recalls how a “phantom” holding call on the center erased what would have been a game-winning touchdown run in the 1953 game.

“Our center hadn’t been called for a holding the whole year and they called him on the biggest play of the game,” Sink said. “If the call is not made, the touchdown run stands and we probably kick the extra point to win the game.”

Still, Sink isn’t totally bitter with Hoover.

“It took me a while to get over the rivalry,” he said. “I ended up marrying a Hoover High girl while I was at Glendale college and we’ve been married for 56 years. So, I guess it can’t be all bad.”