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It was great to get a call last week that Amador Valley High School was finally starting an Athletic Hall of Fame, with the inaugural class being announced Oct. 15 before the Amador-Monte Vista football game.
One of the oldest high schools in the East Bay Athletic League had not put together Hall of Fame to honor the legion of great athletes that had come through the school.
That is not the case any longer.
The unveiling of what will be known as the AV Athletics Wall of Fame, which is located right outside the entrance to the Dons’ stadium, was long overdue.
The first class of inductees is: Johanna Grauer (softball), Mike Geib (soccer coach), Laurie Whiteland (community/fundraising), Kevin Crow (soccer), Don Anger (tennis coach), Ken and Carol Mano (community/Special Olympics), Dan Gabor (track), Skip Mohatt (basketball coach), Stephen Piscotty (baseball) and Mia Fisher (basketball).
All very deserving for either their exploits in their respective sports, or their work behind the scenes to benefit the school.
Crow I had the pleasure of being a teammate of since we were 11, and Geib was our coach at Amador when we finished as the top-ranked team in the nation in 1979.
Grauer was one of those softball players that absolutely controlled the outcome of a game.
Mohatt was Amador basketball for years, making the Dons one of the top teams in Northern California for many years. Highly respected in the coaching ranks, his teams came to play every night.
Piscotty — well, his ability speaks for itself with his success at Stanford and for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland A’s, currently.
Gabor was like a little brother to me, and it was incredible to be at the CIF State meet covering the race when he won his 800-meter title. Gone way too early when TWA Flight 800 went down.
Fisher, one of the best athletes I ever covered, was responsible for the Dons girls’ team drawing as big of crowds as the boys’ team during her run. Just an amazing athlete, and person.
I took private tennis lessons from Anger on the court in his backyard, and he was a wealth of knowledge. Like Mohatt and Geib, he was a heck of a teacher as well.
There is a huge hoard of deserving athletes/community members for the Dons, and I look forward to seeing some great athletes/people inducted.
Living in Pleasanton since 1967, being a 1979 Amador graduate and having been covering the EBAL since 1985 in one capacity or another, I have had the joy of watching some incredible athletes compete. It’s great for them to get their due.
Foothill volleyball
The Falcons picked up another pair of wins, moving one step closer to an EBAL title.
In their first match of the week, Foothill beat Carondelet by a 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 final.
Highlights came from Grayce Olson (24 kills, 8 service points), Katie Salonga (34 assists, 10 digs), Paige Bennett (8 kills, 11 digs, 8 service points) and Sruti Jonnalagadda (5 kills, 3 blocks).
Next up came a thriller, as Foothill battled to a 15-25, 23-25, 25-13, 25-15, 15-11 win over San Ramon Valley.
The team was led by Olson (29 kills, 14 digs), Salonga (42 assists, 12 service points), Bennett (12 kills, 17 digs) and Jo Modica (6 kills, 12 digs).
The pair of wins moved Foothill to 26-2 overall, and 15-1 in league play.
Old-school football
Foothill’s 24-0 win over Livermore on Oct. 15 was a throwback to the golden days of high school football and it had nothing to do with anything on the field.
The game was played at Foothill and featured not only Foothill’s band, but Livermore’s band as they made the trip over to Pleasanton.
In the first half, the two bands went back and forth creating an old-school atmosphere like games I remember going to as a kid.
After Foothill’s band performed at halftime, they exited as usual, leaving only the visiting team’s band. And the Cowboys didn’t disappoint, playing throughout the second half, keeping the festive feeling going.
Props must go out to the Cowboys’ band for sticking it out throughout the game, which was refreshing to see, especially when you are used to seeing your band leave at halftime regularly.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
Hey Dennis, enjoyed your article about the Amador High wall of fame. While I realize everyone cannot be recognized at once, and that these are deserving, I was very disappointed that Art Morley was not included. Who did more for, & loved AHS more, than Art?