FOOTBALL 

Interscholastic high school football began at Bishop O’Dowd in 1970, nearly twenty years after the school was opened in 1951. The school played an independent schedule before joining the Catholic Athletic League (CAL) in 1971. The first few years saw little success until 1974 when the Dragons captured the program’s first title. It was another fifteen years before the Dragons captured another league championship.

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With future NFL player Eric Bjornson leading the way, the Dragons completed an undefeated season in 1989 and earned the East Shore Athletic League (ESAL) title. The Dragons repeated as champions in 1990 and shared the crown with St. Mary’s in 1991. A balanced Dragons team went undefeated in 1993 to win another league title but the season ended in disappointment with a stunning last-second loss to Foothill High School in the North Coast Section (NCS) semi-finals. The Dragons returned to the NCS playoffs in 1995, beginning a current string of 16 consecutive years of playoff appearances (1995-2010), a feat shared only by De La Salle, Foothill and James Logan High School. Over these 16 years, the Dragons have captured three NCS titles (1997, 1998, 2004) and played in five NCS title games. From 1997-1999 the Dragons posted a record of 35 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie. Only De La Salle had a better record (39-0) during that three year period as the Dragon football program established itself as one of the most outstanding high school programs in Northern California.

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The Dragons are proud of the ten student-athletes who have made it into the National Football League: Charles Butler (’80), Gardiner Williams (’80), Freeman Baysinger (’88), Tarik Glenn (’93), Eric Bjornson (’90), Langston Walker (’97), Kirk Morrison (2000), Gabriel Franklin (2000), Joshua Dean (2000), and Burl Toler III (2001). In addition, we are proud of the 130+ Dragons who have played at the collegiate level, most on some form of athletic scholarship.