photo by Matt Maltz ’82

I actually caught Dartmouth Coach Eugene “Buddy” Teevens in his office recently — he said they were about to go into a recruiting meeting with his staff –and mentioned Guy; I said he had a lot of “heart”. Ironically, Guy missed a couple games start of season because he had injured his back at Buddy Teevens football camp this summer.

Meanwhile Noah Riley his quarterback (brother of former Gunn basketball star David Riley ’06, nephew of Oregon State Beavers coach Mike Riley*) was honorable mention Athlete of the Week for throwing three TDs to Guy, versus Lynbrook.

The photo above was one of those pay dirtplays at Los Altos, in the Titans loss, 28-19, as they closed out a 1-8 season (they were a lot better than that record believe, and at times played like champions, or future champions, and winners at the game of life). Matt Maltz, who I’ve known since fifth grade at Fremont Hills, and was shoulder-to-shoulder to me on the Terman flag football team, has a boy Andrew Maltz who is a D-1 prospect mostly due to his size (6’3″ 285 as a sophomore) and also took some amazing pictures of the highlights this season. The above shot is part of a sequence of 10 that shows this play, exemplary of Kasznik. (Mr. Kasznik or Dr. Kasznik as the case may be, also has some good shots).

I saw all 10 Titan clashes and posted voluminously if distinctly here at Plastic Alto, plus the Palo Alto Weekly cribbed from my coverage against Carlmont for example two games. I got started because there were also two more dads, Scott Rothstein and Phil Bibo I knew well. That plus the Hollywood version of De La Salle of Concord “When the Game Stands Tall“. I am working on finishing or cumulative thoughts on the season and a title. (working title references either “The Seven Samurai” or “Ten Angry Men”).

Thank you coach Shinichi Hirano for his hard work on behalf of our boys and for nine post game interviews.

edit to add, and fact-checking above: due to the Saturday afternoon Gunn at Los Altos, I also caught most of Saratoga defeating Paly 41-33 and shot some snapshots mostly of the team rushing past me to the locker room while I chatted with a Saratoga dad named Sloan who is threatening to pull his freshman who he considers a D-1 prospect in 3 sports and putting him at Mitty. Then I posted this just now to Weekly site — it is undetermined if I will try to collect via small claims the $50 per week Keith Peters promised me start of season, issuing me a CCS pass.
Gunn would have beaten Paly this year no doubt even with only 14 players. And you refuse to staff it. For shame.

edit to add, about two weeks later: Matt Passell, co-captain of a Gunn 1979-1980 basketball team that went 22-5 and won the first of two SCVAL championships, and teammate of Kent Lockhart two seasons, and father of two boys at Gunn currently, says he recalls Guy Kasznik at the “Juana Run” beating his boys and all age-group comers in the sprints, a few years back. I chatted with Matt in our mutual participation in the Gunn Alumni basketball game; he played, and made a three, I sat on the bench, my customary spot, and was somewhere between Zelig and Zelmo Beatty, not quite a coach. I also ran into a young man, Steve Kressie, who is at UC Davis majoring in mechanical engineering, and his parents and admitted that I had a daydream about then-Dartmouth president Kim Jim meeting Steve and making a deal where they would bet his admission on one half-court shot by Steve. File this all under: Monroe Trout mess.

*I should edit to add or post a post-season wrap-up but Mike Riley, a former DB for Alabama during the Bear Bryant glory years, and national champ, uncle of the gutty and smart Gunn QB senior Noah Riley, is now head coach at Nebraska. Meanwhile sight-ems for former Titans FB in soccer (Kascnik, or so I read), hoops (Riley, I think went in at end of Summit rout, as wing or guard or forward) and wrestling Drew Maltz. I also did some screen captures of Cal Hi Sports 60 shot montage about the season Bay Area wide. I spoke at School Board in December lauding the team and their families and singling out Nozo Imanaka and Guy Kasznik, saying they deserved Athlete of The Week recognition. I was ragging on the Weekly.