Game On – August 2025

    A lot of Miramonte football has been played in 70 years, and picking out the best of the best in that span is no easy task – but I thought I’d give it a shot. I have my reasons, but I know there some very talented players who’ve been overlooked, so make sure to send me your corrections and additions. And with that, here we go …
    Who among the deep locker room of past Miramonte players would make the “All-Madden Team” if the Mats were, let’s pretend, an “All-Miramonte 2025” video game? Who would you choose as your best players to put out on the field?
    After years of hanging out on the sidelines taking pictures and chatting up refs, coaches and old-timer fans, I heard some great stories. Recurring names kept coming up, so I started to scribble some of them down.
    Then I had a talk with the legendary Floyd Burnsed who was the head coach at Miramonte in the ‘80s before he more recently coached the Acalanes Dons to a state championship in 2023. He trained quite a few of Miramonte’s greatest ever. Huge help.
    Other contributors to my research who deserve a mention: My neighbor Keith Jacobson, who attended high school back when you could still ride your dinosaur to class; Doug Senz, who’s been both a student, a teacher and a coach at Miramonte since forever; Jon Kingdon, Raiders’ talent scout, ref and sports writer; the late, great, coach “Peyo” (John Peyovich) and of course Jack Schram, recent Miramonte head coach and walking library of football.
    Here’s my swing at it, organized first by chronology, with the most ancient all-Miramonte star mentioned first. And by the end of the list, for the sake of continuing the video game analogy, all the positions will have been filled.
    Please keep in mind, some of these players mentioned hit the field in a time long before the internet, digital stats and properly stored records, so their high school prowess lives on more in spoken legend than raw numbers.
    Punter (1981): Bryan Barker. Our only kicker ever to go pro. No high school statistics could be found on him, but the Kansas City Chiefs have listed him under their “Legends of the Game.” He played 16 years in the NFL for six different teams, and is second all-time in the NFL with 878 consecutive punts without one being blocked.
    Wide receiver (1983): Dave Montagne. No specific high school stats could be dug up on him either, but Dave went on to play in the NFL also, so it stands to reason he was pretty darn talented. He went to Oregon State, where he was No. 1 on the Pac-10 leader board with 862 receiving yards his senior year. He was then drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1987.
    Defensive back (1990): Damon Dixon. Dixon credits his success in the Navy to what he learned playing football in Orinda, and he’s currently Captain of all U.S. Marines communications. No high school stats could be unearthed regarding his defensive back play at Miramonte (classified documents perhaps?) but he was a standout kick returner and wide receiver at Navy. He was the leading punt returner among the 10 independent schools in 1993, a group that included 11-1 Notre Dame and 9-3 Louisville. At Miramonte, his defensive back skills were recalled as “outstanding” and “unbelievable.”
    Wide receiver (1996): Drew Bennett. Drew is unique, and was also a close contender for my QB2 slot, having played quarterback extreeeemely well at Miramonte, but he became a superstar receiver in college at UCLA. As a Miramonte quarterback, Bennett passed for 2,308 yards and 18 touchdowns, as well as running for six more TDs in his senior year. He was a first-team all-league and second team All-Bay Area, and led Miramonte to a league championship. But after high school he went to UCLA and was converted to wide receiver. The move worked out, as he was drafted by the Tennessee Titans and still holds several team records – among them, most receiving touchdowns in a three-game span (eight), eighth all-time in receiving yards (4,033) and ninth in receptions (273).
    Linebacker (1998): Rick Mootz. Mootz is believed to have the most tackles in a single Miramonte game with 44 and made the East Bay Times “Cream of the Crop” list. He went on to play at Chico State – old-timers say his nose for the ball made him look like a shark sensing blood in the water.
    Offensive lineman (1999): Mike MacDonald. Hands down, MacDonald is everyone’s favorite pick for best-ever Miramonte lineman. No debate. Absolute beast. “Big Mike” played football and wrestled at Miramonte and was a first-teamer in both the Contra Costa Times and San Francisco Examiner all-area lists. He helped lead the Mats to North Coast Section title in both ‘98 and ‘99. Went on to play both football and rugby at Cal. The phrase ‘Best I’ve ever seen’ was heard more than once. And “You could play him anywhere and he’d simply mow people over.”
    Quarterback (1999) Ken Dorsey. Dorsey went on to play quarterback for the University of Miami, the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns, which is a resume few in the Bay Area can match. While at Miramonte, he had a highly successful, shorter than normal, two-year career as the starting quarterback. He led the Mats to back-to-back North Coast Section 2A East Bay titles, amassing 4,968 passing yards and 52 touchdowns in just two seasons. His senior year saw him throw for 2,780 yards and 22 touchdowns, culminating in a perfect 13-0 record.
    (His unsigned rookie 49er trading card is currently selling for $234.)
    Now, we’ve had quite a few great quarterbacks over the years, so I’m allowing myself to have a back-up QB2 (in case Ken gets hurt). For that slot I’d choose the lesser known Drew Anderson, Class of 2014. He put up some incredible numbers, very close to Ken’s two-year run, but his were slightly less at 4,074 yards and 47 touchdowns. He went on to play for the Buffalo Bulls in college and had a stand-out single game of 597 passing yards and seven touchdowns against Western Michigan.
    Strong safety (2001): Sekai Greer. MaxPrep stats only go back as far as 2007, so there are no Miramonte records of his tackles and interceptions. But two different coaches recommended him, on separate occasions, as a memorable all-time great, and he was also named to the East Bay Times “Cream of The Crop” in 2001. Sekai went on to play at the University of Akron as a running back. Married his Miramonte sweetheart and later became the defensive back coach at Miramonte.
    Running back (2017): Pete Stehr. Stehr holds Miramonte’s school record for all-time rushing yards in a season with 1,693 and was named first-team All-CIF North Coast running back AND linebacker in 2017. While taking pictures on the sidelines, I once had a line judge say to me “That kid is a high-speed train wearing cleats.” Pete went on to play for Boston College for four years.
    Linebacker (2018): Sam Walker. I’m putting him on my list because I personally witnessed him play, and he was phenomenal. Listed as averaging 9.1 solo tackles a game (seems way too low), he hit people like a flying sledgehammer. Cra-blam!! You could hear the impact from the parking lot. In the 19+ years that I’ve lived in Orinda, I’d say he’s the best I’ve seen at the position. Sam went on to Cal.
    Outside linebacker (2022): Sam Ross. At 6-4, 245, Sam was a highly dominant defensive player but he also contributed on the other side of the ball – and even returned a few punts (for 340 yards). Ross went on to play outside linebacker for Cal.
    Now I fully realize this list will come with some comments of “ Hey, you forgot _______”, and we’d love to hear about anyone we might have missed. Send comments and omissions (or so you think) to griffindoor.bell@gmail.com.
    Finally, this year is Miramonte High School’s 70th anniversary, and I’m hoping that a great deal of alumni will turn out for the homecoming game (Oct. 24 against Las Lomas) and give me an earful of new “good-old-days” stories.
    Bring ‘em on.