Head coach Lenny Wagner shields his eyes from the sun while he watches Terrence Drew turn his reception up field against Butte College Sept. 13 at Bailey Field in Santa Rosa.
The 2014 Santa Rosa Junior College football season felt like a ride on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper. Height is achieved early, followed by a plummet with numerous ups and downs, banks, twists and turns, but upside down never quite happens.
The Bear Cubs opened with five straight wins including an exciting overtime win, dethroning last year’s national champion Butte College.
“Seeing our team run on the field after we beat Butte in the overtime and seeing how happy all those guys were. The coaches, the fans, that was just a great night,” said head coach Lenny Wagner about his favorite moment from the season.
One of the toughest losses of the season was losing to College of San Mateo by three points Oct. 18 in San Mateo. Missing a chance to knock two nationally ranked number one teams in one year.
“I think it was a really good season,” Wagner said. “I think it was progress from where we were last year, and as a coach sometimes it takes a week or two to feel the right way about a season. As a coach you want to win every game, and you remember the losses a lot more than you remember the wins and those games stick in my head. But after having a couple weeks to digest the whole thing, I think it was a really successful year and I’m really happy for my guys.”
The Bear Cubs ended the season 7-4 overall, 2-3 in conference and 5-0 at home and with Wagner at the helm, 2015 should be just as exciting.
Be sure to check out theoakleafnews.com for all the photos that didn’t make it to print.