HALL OF FAME 2007

14 New Hall of Famers for 2007
Stacy Bolton, Shannon Bosetti, Steve Church, Mike Cox,
Gary Cressey, Sarah Crye, Caitlin Curran, Nena Custodio, Jack Epperson, Kami Gray, Brooke Meredith,
Kameron Merritt, Jennifer Ratto & Dan Scott
'57 Football Team Also Honored
HOF Event Pictures
(10/4/07-Shasta College-Jeffrey Jen) Fifty years ago, the Shasta College football program made its first bowl appearance -- and won. The 1957 Knights team that went 8-1 and made it to a bowl is marking its 50th year reunion, and will come together for the Shasta Hall of Fame game weekend on Oct. 19-20. While the current Knights host Merced at 1 p.m. Oct. 20, the game is only part of the festivities. Members of the 1957 team will be inducted to the hall, along with 12 other former Knights and two more for community service. One of the 1957 team members, Earl Moranda of Arcata has been trying to contact some old teammates in hopes of gathering the whole team together for the weekend. Moranda, who played wide receiver and defensive end under head coach Bill Rhyne, remembers the team well after 50 years. "We were a compact team," Moranda said. "Tough young guys. We got along good together. Camaraderie was outstanding. We went both ways back in those days. We had 27 players on the team, just enough for two teams to practice." Moranda said the '57 Knights played in the Lumber Bowl, which took place on the school's own field -- which at the time was Shasta High's Thompson Field. Back then, Shasta defeated a team from Olympic Junior College (Wash.) 20-19 on Thanksgiving Day. Olympic was ranked 13th nationally. In those simpler days, the community rallied around the team before its upcoming bowl and Moranda said various clubs invited the team to luncheons. Right now, he's hoping to get a few more of his former teammates to the Hall of Fame festivities. There will be a Hall of Fame dinner at Win-River Casino at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 19. Dinner tickets are $25 per person. The inductees will be introduced at halftime of the Merced-Shasta game. There will also be a post-game social at the Holiday Inn Convention Center from 5-11 p.m. Oct. 20 hosted by Lloyd Snelson, a member of Shasta 1953 team. As for the other inductees, many familiar names dot the list. Mike Cox, a Red Bluff product who broke Jason Sehorn's school record for most career receptions in 2001, will be inducted, as will center Steve Church (2000-2001) and strong safety Kameron Merritt (1998-2000), a standout strong safety. All three went to Division I programs -- Cox to Arkansas State, Church to Nevada and Merritt, now a Knights assistant coach, to Boise State. Last year, Kelly Brazil made her second trip to the state JC volleyball tournament. Her first came in 1999 and three of those players will be inducted: current Central Valley High School coach Sarah Crye, former league MVP Nena Custodio and Shannon Bosetti. Brooke Meredith, a West Valley product, won the 2002 state JC heptathlon title with a school record 5,182 points. Meredith went on to become an All-American heptathlete for University of California and still holds five school records. Others include Knights softball assistant Stacy Bolton (softball, 1999-2000), Kami Gray (softball, 1999-2000), Caitlin Curran (softball, 1996-1997), Jennifer Ratto (women's basketball, 2000-2001) and Daniel Scott (golf, 1996-1997). Also gaining hall entry are Jack Epperson and Gary Cressey, who have been the auctioneers for Shasta College's Celebrity Dinner/Auction event since its 1995 inception. Reporter Jeffrey Jen's notebook runs every Thursday. He can be reached at
225-8228 or jjen@redding.com.
HOF Event Pictures


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