Burrell is not 7-4

[trenchman74]

I played for Burrell in Ukiah in 93 we went 1-9.. So this is actually his third stint, and his correct record is 7-13 The team we had in 1992 was loaded with talent and should have been 10-0. Bill Hook took over the year after I graduated.  The program is in clear trouble still. Might be worse this year than last year. I just don't think my tragic senior season should be put on Bill Hook who was not even coaching the varsity team in Ukiah while I was there. I can't believe Burrell has not been a man and said," hey guys, there is a mistake here. I coached the Wildcats in 1993, not Bill Hook." We had a lot of talent too, but he lost his staff the following year. Just wanted to set the record straight.  

[tripper]

I was thinking ukiah has gone way down hill! Not even a force on the NBL. Really when you consider the draw they have they should be one of the top contenders in their league. The reality is they have been bottom dweller since they last made the playoffs last and were distroyed by Ignacio. I would attribute this solely to coaching. Willits had a great coach in Collicott step down. He turned that program around! Why not reach out to him? I am sure that the only win ukiah will get happened on Friday night. They may beat Oakland but in my opinion that is a horrible scheduling and is not on par with who they should be playing in pre season. League will tell the true story of ukiah s readiness.

[Ben Herrington]

Hey guys, just saw this. Let me look into it b/c I only show him coaching there as Head Coach for one year, and I haven't had any email or phone contact with him personally.

IT's hard to get records going back that far ago, some details have been inaccurate or off by a year or so. If what I have is incorrect I'll surely change it.

I've always been of the thought that Ukiah has been under performing year in and year out. I think they should be a NBL title chaser just about every year but it just doesn't happen. I never was a Burris fan and no one really gave Schuller a chance to do anything. The program was on the way back when Norbury and another teacher pulled that bullshit to get them in the coaching position.

Burrell has worked very hard to get Ukiah to where they are now. Ukiah is a good team this season, don't focus on the 1-9 from last season, this squad in a far cry from that. A loss to Piner means nothing, they will challenge Analy for a league title and will win a playoff game. Ukiah has some serious numbers and talent that wouldn't have come together without Burrell. If he sticks around then Ukiah will where they should be.

[catforlife]

Ukiah's football history has been plagued by underachievement since we joined the NBL in the early 60's. There have been a few notable exceptions. My dad played on the 1962 team that went 6-2-1 under Bill Tatum. They defeated NBL champ Hogan of Vallejo. My dad and his buddies have regaled me with UHS football lore for years. Tatum went 8-19 over his last 3 seasons. Mort Vandenberg (sp?)arrived in'67 and was able to increase the numbers and the quality of the assistant coaches but was under .500 over his 4 seasons at the helm. Our most successful coach, hands down, was Jim Larson who was promoted from Frosh coach to the varsity job in '71. I believe they won the NBL title that year with Leo Cook, who got a full ride to Arizona St.at QB. Larson won another title in '75 I believe with a team that featured Dennis Willeford (who recently left the UHS principal position), Norbury, and Burrell. A couple of more titles followed in the 80's but we've not experienced much success since Jim left. Bill Hook is a good man and provided a great example to his players.

Ben is correct in that the numbers and the enthusiasm are way up in the program but, I've seen all 3 games this season and this team will go 0-7 in the NBL. My hope is that the enthusiasm will not be severely dampened and that the athletes continue to be drawn to the program.

[resistance]

It would appear that those boys in Purple are proving to be quite resilient. I have had the pleasure of watching this "under achieving" program take a 42 point favorite Montgomery team into three overtimes, then stand toe to toe and competing courageously against a powerful Casa team, and last night, soundly beating and outplaying Santa Rosa. Next week's game vs. Maria Carillo should be exciting! An exciting league game up for grabs at the end of the season... what a departure from and a big improvement over last season.

Its unfortunate that this identity of pessimistic negativity is so apparently rampant amongst people who consider themselves fans of Ukiah Football. Maybe it has been warranted by years of mediocrity, but to come into a season as a supposed fan of Ukiah Football without at least a glimmer of optimism for the young men involved, is a deplorable insult to the spirit of the game.

I'll be attending this upcoming game and cheering loudly for these young men who have improved in the face of some serious growing pains in this tough tough league. And I hope that even the most cynical of Ukiah fans can put their defeatist attitudes and/or their thinly veiled personal agendas aside and root for Ukiah football, for the kids, for the school, and for the community. In the spirit of the game.

[Ben Herrington]

Its too bad Ukiah didn't upset Carrillo, I for one was pulling for em.

Ukiah this season is a far cry from what they were last season under Norbury. Even though the difference only seems to be 1-9 to 3-7, just look at the numbers. Many more kids are playing on all levels and the program as a whole is much healthier. Make no mistake, Ukiah is back.

Though I expected them to do better than they did (3-7) how they finished is a good improvement. Rome wasn't built in a day. Just look at what John Antonio has done with Piner, that took time too. 2-8 forever and 1-9 before he got there, now they are 5-5 going to NCS playoffs. In fact they are 4 points from being 8-2 this season. Ukiah will be the real deal in the future, just watch.