CC FOOTBALL COACHES’ 40-YEAR RIVALRY ENDS FRIDAY

September 28, 2005 Immediate Release -- From: Fred Baer, Director, JC Athletic Bureau; Public Relations for California Community College Football Coaches Association / Northern California Football Association
PO Box 5401, San Mateo, CA 94402-0401 Phone: 650-345-4114 Fax: 650-593-5973
frdbaer@aol.com



One of the oldest lifelong rivalries between two college coaches reaches a fitting climax Friday night (Sept. 30) in Oakland.



Retiring Laney College head coach Stan Peters hosts City College of San Francisco and coach George Rush in a battle of unbeaten (4-0) community college football powers at 7 pm.



The two local men have been foes since the 1966 Prune Bowl, when they started with their current colleges – in the first ever meeting of the two Bay Area colleges (following perfect regular seasons).



Then Laney assistant coach Stan Peters (in his first year) and his undefeated Eagles upset nationally top-ranked City College of San Francisco -- which included players such as Rush, plus O.J. Simpson, Al Cowlings, and Mike Taylor -- for the mythical national JC title.



NFL Pipeline: More than a half dozen future NFL players participated in that game, including top draft picks Simpson and Laney’s Norm Thompson, plus Speedy Thomas. Six Laney players went onto to play at Cal. “That was the best JC team I’ve ever seen,” Peters says of his first Laney team.



Former CC players are at the helm of both Cal and Stanford. New Stanford coach Walt Harris also played against Simpson during that era, for College of San Mateo. It is believed that this is the first time both Stanford and Cal head coaches are former California CC players. (Cal’s Jeff Tedford competed for Cerritos College.)



CCSF has records for titles and wins; feeds DI: Rush has coached a record four state title teams (between 1999 and 2003). He also compiled a national record 42-game win streak (1999-2002). CCSF has been a top producer of NCAA Division I players in recent years and has played a major role in Cal’s success.



Rankings: CCSF is currently ranked No. 1 in Northern California and No. 2 among the state’s 72 teams by the JC Athletic Bureau. One publication has the Rams also No. 1 in the nation. Laney is ranked No. 14 in the state.



Head coaching records:

Stan Peters, Laney: 173 wins, 135 losses (32nd season)

George Rush, CCSF: 228 wins, 74 losses (29th season)

--Peters ranks No. 8 in wins among active coaches nationally, No. 5 in California.

--Rush is No 3 among active JC coaches nationally, No. 2 in California (behind Ken Swearingen of College of the Desert, with 260 wins in 35 seasons).



LIVE TV: Friday night's game is scheduled to be televised live in the Oakland-Berkeley-Alameda area on Peralta College TV (PCTV) cable outlets, starting at 6:55 p.m. PCTV reaches 350,000 homes and is cable channel 28 in Oakland, Emeryville, and Piedmont; cable channel 27 in Alameda and Berkeley.



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