BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Seven individuals and the 1976 Junior Rose Bowl Champion team will join some of the best athletes to wear the Renegade colors during Homecoming Week.
- Bakersfield College will host Allan Hancock in the 2024 homecoming game, Saturday, Oct. 19th. Kickoff at 6 pm.
- The B.C. Athletic Hall of Fame will induct seven individuals and the 1976 Junior Rose Bowl champion team as part of this year's class.
- The Class of 2024 includes Dr. William Baker, Vernon Burke, Ken Calvin, Phil Dumatrait, Cathie Wilson Jones, Dave Manning, Louis Wright, and the '76 Jr. Rose Bowl team.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Bakersfield College is kicking off homecoming week with the latest induction ceremony to the B.C. Athletic Hall of Fame on Wednesday night. Seven individuals and one 'team' will be honored for their contribution to Renegade Nation.
"We had a great team and worked well together," said Steve Denman, the quarterback of the Renegades' 1976 Junior Rose Bowl champion team. "We really peaked at the right time."
A team that became part of Renegade lore. Longtime Tehachapi H.S. football coach Steve Denman talked about that team, which beat College of Sequoias in the 1976 Potato Bowl, earning a berth in the Junior Rose Bowl game in Pasadena.
Denman threw for a pair of touchdowns in the Gades victory. "40,000 people drove down to see us in the Rose Bowl," said Denman. Mike Waufle, a defensive lineman on the '76 squad said simply, "We kicked the snot out of them."
Waufle was part of a solid defense that shut down a potent Ellsworth, Iowa offense on that day. He joined the Marines out of high school in the early 70s, before leaving New York for the Central Valley. "We had a front seven that could stop the run," said Waufle, "I went back later and watched the game as a coach, and realized how dominating we were."
But it was more than talent on this team, it was a family. Denman and Waufle have been friends ever since crediting the coaching staff of Gerry Collis, Carl Bowser, Duane Damron, Harvel Pollard, and Walt Johnson for the tight-knit group. It also launched Waufle's coaching career of nearly four decades in college and the NFL. "Great coaches, people, and role models to look up to, and we were tough guys," said Waufle.
Now, only Coach Damron remains, although Denman said the others should be huddled up watching the induction from the upper deck. "We'd like to have them with us, but they're smiling down on us," said Denman.
The homecoming game is Saturday against Allan Hancock at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 pm.
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