Over 75 years worth of memories echoed through the hallways and emptied out locker rooms at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening, as Long Beach’s storied venue hosted one final football game between the Long Beach City College Vikings and the Riverside City College Tigers.
LBCC welcomed back a host of football alumni, and had an above-average crowd baking in the August heat. Fans were encouraged to sign the stadium’s pillars with Sharpies, or even write on their seats to leave behind their favorite memories from their time at Vets.
The action between the lines left something to be desired, however, as the Vikings fell 41-7 to Riverside in both teams’ season-opener.
But Saturday’s result is merely a footnote in the great history over LBCC’s home venue, and head coach Marques Cooper reflected on all that history after the game.
“This has been a great place. A lot of wins, a lot of bowl games, and one day doesn’t sum up what this place has been,” said Cooper. “People want to come back here because it’s a place that changed their life. It’s a transformational place. Junior college is the place where you actually find yourself and become young men … And this place has stood tall for a long time.”
Prior to kickoff, the Vikings held a moment of silence in memory of longtime LBCC Athletics supporter August “Augie” Luuga, who was a constant presence at Vikings football games. Augie was an unheralded yet unwavering supporter of all things LBCC, and he volunteered countless hours at Vets to support his alma mater.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Riverside took control of the action with 20 points in the second, taking a commanding lead into halftime. It only got more lopsided from there, as the Tigers pulled out to a 41-0 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for the home crowd, the Vikings were able to mount a scoring drive late in the final period, scoring the final points ever at Vets. Kayde Bodine connected with a wide open Michael Wilson for a nine-yard TD toss, salvaging a score for the Vikings to end the night.
While Cooper was disappointed with the loss, he kept things in perspective with his team after the final whistle. It’s just one game into the season, and with a dozen players missing from the starting lineup, and the flu bug going through his locker room all week, Cooper believes there are better days ahead for this group, so long as they take the proper lesson from their loss.
“Honestly, we needed this game, because it’s humbled a lot of guys that think you can be part-time in, and you can’t. It shows up in the games,” Cooper said. “In football, you get back what you put into it. So if you don’t put everything into it, if you only put a little in, you’re only gonna get a little back. Some of those guys kind of got an eye-opener because I was telling them that Riverside as our first game is really a playoff type game.”
The Vikings will be back in action next Saturday on the road at Mt. San Jacinto, and LBCC’s next scheduled home game is for Sept. 19 against Santa Barbara. The site for that game and all future LBCC home games this season has yet to be announced.
