STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
HOLTVILLE — From August to December is a long time for a football player. During this time he must take untold abuse both from his own teammates in practice and from opposing teams every Friday night.
However, for 25 Holtville football players it all became worthwhile last night as the mighty Vikings humbled the Needles Mustangs, 19-6, and were crowned 1968 California Interscholastic Federation, Southern Section, Small Schools champions.
It was a great victory for this all-time great Holtville team as they climaxed a perfect 12-0 season with an impressive victory over the finest team they played in 1968.
Needles was a great team, too, as it came into the game with a 10-1 record and a powerful offensive built around fullback Mike Richardson and halfback Phil Baker.
The Viking defense, led by Bruce Manchester and Roy Rivers, did a great job in containing those two powerful runners and kept them away from scoring until the fourth quarter when Richardson bucked over from the 2 for the Mustangs’ only score.
Holtville started the way they did two weeks ago against Notre Dame as George Hoyt scored the first time he got the ball to give the Vikings an early lead.
Last night, Needles kicked off to Hoyt who ran it from the 23 to the 35. On first down, he rambled 65 yards for a 6-0 lead in the first minute of the contest.
Three more times in the first half the Vikings gained possession in Needles territory but failed to score.
After the Holtville touchdown quarterback David Holpuch fumbled to Viking Manchester at the 36 but Hoyt was thrown for a 4-yard loss.
40 years ago
Construction of a concrete-and-steel fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border has sparked controversy because “it is a great symbol for our own need for a policy” regarding the increasing flow of illegal immigrants into this country, says Leonel J. Castillo, commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The INS commissioner made his remarks during a question-and-answer session with INS employees Monday afternoon at the Border Patrol’s sector headquarters in El Centro.
In his first visit to INS Valley facilities, Castillo toured the Border Patrol’s alien detention center before dedicating a new medical clinic nearby. He also awarded a certificate of commendation to an INS officer, Robert Guerrero, who had saved the life of a Holtville youngster earlier this year.
Commenting on the proposed construction of a more solid border fence as San Ysidro and El Paso, Castillo said he has found that perceptions of the reinforced fence vary depending on a community’s distance from the border.
At the two border cities to be affected, for example, the INS commissioner indicated that residents favored a more solid barrier. In Tijuana and El Paso, he said, residents near the border are convinced a new fence will help stem border crime, which has plagued both areas in recent years.