SLO High to celebrate 100 years of football history before rivalry game with Arroyo Grande

Among the possessions of former San Luis Obispo High School football coach Vic Ecklund is a weathered black notebook with the Tigers’ logo taped to the front.

It’s a record book that contains the history of the Tiger football program dating back to 1924.

The first page features four black-and-white photos of former Tigers football players, including one with two students donning old-school leather helmets.

The text on the page reads, “Respect the Past … Represent the Future.”

One of the longest standing football teams in San Luis Obispo County will do just that on Friday when it celebrates its 100-year anniversary.

Ahead of SLO’s rivalry matchup against Arroyo Grande, the school will host the “100 Years of Tiger Football.” All former Tiger football players who attend will be honored at 6:30 p.m. before kickoff.

Then on Saturday, SLO High School will induct eight new members into its Hall of Fame, the first additions since before the pandemic. The eight individuals are Bruce Tedone, Brian Waterbury, Chalon Tietje, Julian Demalleville, Brooke Ecklund, Abrianna Torres, Jenna Kingma and Anna Lee.

Head Coach Pat Johnston said it was important for the program to celebrate a century of history.

“That’s one of the great things about high school football is those connections made and the legacy and tradition across generations,” Johnston said.

While the exact start date of the football program is unknown, the record book dates back to 1924, which led to the decision to make 2024 the 100-year anniversary year.

Ecklund and his former assistant Steve Crocker have been responsible for maintaining and updating the book. They used old newspaper clippings and photos to keep track of past seasons.

Ecklund, who was the head coach from 1987 to 2001, said he wanted to preserve the “history of the program.”

“There’s a legacy here,” Ecklund said. “We want more kids to know that you’re not the first one to and you won’t be the last one to play. Enjoy the moment right now, but understand we were around for a long time.”

According to the record book, the Tigers have secured three CIF championships: 1947, 1960, 1968, 1980 and 2001. The team has 21 league championships spanning multiple decades, the earliest coming in the 1931.

Players in attendance will include some from the 1968 team that won the first CIF Championship in school history.

Mike Lee played quarterback, free safety and punter for the Tigers that year.

He remembers the 1968 season didn’t get off to a strong start. The Tigers lost their first three games of the season, but he remembers the team got better as the season went along.

The majority of the team was comprised of players who played on both sides of the ball and had been together since their freshman year.

When the playoffs came around, the Tigers knocked off No. 1 seed Hart High School in Southern California and went on to win the championship.

For Ecklund, he’s looking forward to seeing his past players.

“Hopefully, I’ll recognize them,” Ecklund said. “Some of them I haven’t seen in 40 years. Most of the time, I have a hard time recognizing them because they’ve changed. They’ve grown up. They have families.”

While Ecklund was head coach for 15 seasons, he’s worked with the program for over 40 years — with a stint as athletic director for Mission Prep tucked in — and has witnessed close to half of the team’s history.

He’s currently the coach of SLO High’s freshman football team.

“I think the fondest memories is seeing the kids grow up,” Ecklund said. “Seeing them improve, seeing what kind of character they have, what kind of citizens they become. Those are all things we try to build.”

Arroyo Grande rivalry

It’s fitting the Tigers are playing their rival Arroyo Grande on Friday.

Due to the new league formats in the past few years, the Tigers and Eagles now play early season non-league games.

However, Lee remembers when the Eagles were scheduled as a late season matchup, which meant it was important for playoff and CIF implications.

“Arroyo Grande has always been well coached and competitive over the years,” Lee said. “It was no different back when we started to face them.”

Arroyo Grande has won the last four matchups. The last time the Tigers beat the Eagles was in a 28-21 win in 2019.

Coming into the game, the Tigers are 2-0 and are coming off a 21-0 win over Mission Oak. Arroyo Grande fell to Newbury Park in its last game and is 1-1.

“We’re just excited to be able to reconnect with a lot of former players,” said Johnson, who’s been head coach since 2014, “We just want to prepare as well as we can to to play to play as well as we can.”