Row 1: Tom Reese, Dennis Manning, Mark Luttrell, David Williams, Armondo Montijo, Pat Fitzgerald, Richard Kaiser, Fred Laningham
Row 2: Brian Emerson, Gene Moser, Lindsey Davidson, Bob Haenelt, Joe Mazza, Barry Green, Jay Julian, Todd Warren, Ed Perkins
Row 3: Richard Henderson, Kurt Hettinger, Jim Keene, Jeff Julian, Bob Helton, Brian Pennington, Robert Williams, Jim Peterson, Ed Haynes, Danny Drake.
Row 4: John Holbrook, Rob Cleveland, Donny Almon, David Hernandez, Brian Allen, Mike Congdon, Kody Duey, Mike Newcomb, Tom Corson, David Wolfer
Row 5: Coach Dallas Grider, Coach Dave Titsworth, Pete Maddox, Keith Tatum, Richard Goodin, Mark Reed, Keith Williams, Darrick Duran, Greg Jackson, Kevin Horrisberger, Trainer Booker Kilgore and Coach Steve Tucker.

 1981 Valley Champion Football Team​ 

Coming off a 13-0 undefeated Valley Championship season in 1980, the 1981 team entered preseason with high expectations, even if their critics had them ranked lower than they deserved in both the SYL league and the Valley.  But the 1981 Vikings did not disappoint, and the lower than expected preseason rankings were just the incentive they needed to fuel an exceptional season.

During the 81’ season, the Vikings lost just one game and tied another (to BHS).   As luck would have it, the team won the coin toss at the end of the season and headed to the playoffs as the #2 seeded team.  Playing in the mud, the Vikings defeated the #1 seed Mt Whitney, then beat Bullard and went on to conquer Madera for the second year in a row, to become the 81’ Valley Champions.

Unlike other teams of the era, few players on the WHS team played both ways.  Head coach Dallas Grider had a knack for seeing a player’s potential and found ways to ensure that each individual could benefit the whole team, with creative and careful positioning.  The coaching staff emphasized that all eleven guys must play as one, and that “if you did your job, it glorified the whole team”.  The Vikings, under Grider, were also different from most teams in the area and era, with a regimented weight lifting program that made the team both physically and mentally stronger than many of their opponents.

1981 teammate John Holbrook : “More than that we were a bunch of guys that learned to play for the guy next to you! We learned responsibility, we learned integrity, we learned how to be part of something bigger than ourselves!!  We became winners, but most of all we were Family!”