jungle - Junipero Serra High School

oth sides of thecourt. Basketballplayers from thecity who traveldown to thePeninsula forthe match-up inSerra’s gym aregreeted with aspectacular sight:palm fronds thatbedeck the bleachers andwalls, an amped-up, deafeningcheering section,and a basketball squad thatis ready for jungle warfare.Even 30 years later, it’s nothard to see how the Jungle Gamegot its start. On February 14, 1975,the SI players walked into a gym thatlooked much the same as it does now,expecting an easy victory, and a sweetcap to an undefeated, 23-0 seasonthat had already earned the Wildcatsthe de facto WCAL title that year.The game drew the biggest crowd ever to witnessa Serra basketball game to date. Students packedthe gym, hallways, and even the roof of the gym toobserve the action from the skylights above the court.“The crowd was out the door and all the wayaround the gym,” remembers Randy Vogel, then afourth-year teacher and the Rally Committee Moderator.“The noise level was unbelievable.”The noise, the commotion and the skills ofthe Padre hoopsters proved enough to rattle the topseededWildcats, in an unforgettable 54-50 upset.“We were at the height of our game, and thatcrowd was a big reason why,” Serra’s varsity coach PatMcGlennon said that night. “It’s a super advantage tohave all those peopleyelling and screamingfor you.”Fueled by theschool spirit in thestands, center JoeNed and forwardMike O’Regan “hadpossibly the bestall-around efforts oftheir careers,” accordingto the San MateoCounty Times thenext day.In a tenseovertime period,O’Regan and seniorJohn O’Leary each scored fourpoints, clinching a Padre victoryand halting SI’s 23-0 streak.Serra students stormed thecourt, exulting in the narrowvictory.“Students danced orjumped to the beat of the musicas clothes, paper and bodiesflew through the air,” wrote BillRaynor ’75 two weeks later inthe Serra Friar.“The nets were cut andthrown into the middle of thecrowd.“As the night wore on,all San Mateo learned of Serra’svictory,” he continued.“(The excitement) stayed and will stay with Serrastudents much into the future.”It left a deep impression on SI head coach BobDrucker as well. Two years later, when the team waspreparing to travel down to San Mateo to face offagainst the Padres again, he told a San Francisco Examinerreporter, “We have to go down to Serra, andit’ll be a jungle down there.”With his choice of words, Drucker unwittinglybegan a 30-year tradition that has become the highlightof the Serra basketball season.“I had no idea it had started because of somethingI said,” says Drucker today. “It wasn’t until“Being in the standsfor theFebruary 14‘St. Valentine’s DayMassacre’ was an experiencethat I’ll neverforget.”— Bill Raynor ’75,Serra Friar,continued on Page 1817