JJ SAYS: Game plan followed perfectly

The administrators drew up the play, the coaches taught it and the players executed it better than anyone could ever have expected.

From the day the reinstatement of the Egg Bowl was announced, the plan was to make it a community unifying event. The last previous varsity football game between Petaluma and Casa Grande, played in 2011, was so contentious - nine penalties for essentially unsportsmanlike activity, name calling, spitting, spats of pushing and shoving - that the two high schools agreed to a cooling-off period. That period stretched six years.

Last spring, with the cooperation of new Petaluma Schools Superintendent Gary Callahan; both principals, David Stirrat at Petaluma and Eric Backman at Casa Grande; and both coaches, Rick Krist at Petaluma and Denis Brunk at Casa Grande, it was decided that it was time to bring the Egg Bowl back.

No discussion about the return of the Egg Bowl would be complete without reporting the efforts of former Casa Grande head coach Trent Herzog. I’m not going to dredge up the hurt created by the firing of Herzog. Casa Grande is now coached by Brunk, and I believe he is doing a good job helping the Gauchos move forward. But the truth is that Herzog never gave up hope or stopped lobbying to bring the Egg Bowl back. When Krist added his voice to those calling for the return of the annual game, the egg began to boil.

When the game did come back, it came back with an emphasis on unity, not rivalry. The administrators stressed that players, students and families were all part of the same community. The plan was for joint community service projects for players from both schools, and parents were encouraged to celebrate the game and not the east-west divide.

The game plan worked primarily because players from both schools executed so well. Community service projects brought Trojans and Gauchos together and Saturday sportsmanship scored a big win. Players hit hard and tackled strongly, but after many of the hits, they helped opponents back to their feet and when a tense, vigorously played game was over, they greeted one another as respected gladiators.

It wasn’t just the players who accepted the concept of unity.

Both bands were seated on opposite sides of the field and respected one another’s sound rights. In a special moment, cheer squads from both schools took the field at halftime for a first-ever joint performance.

It was an all-around fun experience, just like the administrators drew it up.

Taco tragedy

A personal highlight of the afternoon for me came between the varsity and junior varsity game and was born of a near tragedy.

All during the JV game, I kept one eye on the El Roy’s Mexican Gril mobile kitchen in hopes that the crowd would thin enough for me to snare one of their famous tacos. Finally, good hustle helped me beat the crowd right at the end of the junior varsity game, and I was able to snare two of their soft-shelled best.

But, as I carefully made my way to a table to enjoy my bounty, I managed to dump both onto the pebbled ground. I briefly considered trying to reconstruct the sundry parts, but there was too much grit and too many witnesses, so I quickly discarded that idea.

Fortunately, the El Roy’s people were among the witnesses and quickly offered replacements. Not only did the replacements come at no charge, but the kind merchants, probably realizing I wouldn’t get better with practice walking, insisted that I wait at a table and delivered my meal.

Like the Egg Bowl, it was worth waiting for.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)