Pacifica High School (Garden Grove, California)

Infobox HighSchool
name = Pacifica High School


motto =
established = 1965
type = High School
head =
city = Garden Grove
state = California
country = United States
coordinates =
campus = 67 permanent classrooms and 5 portables
students = 1,978 [ [http://www.ggusd.k12.ca.us/SARC/PacificaHS_06GGUSD.pdf School accountability report 2006-2007] ]
free_label =
free =
colors = Black, white, blue
homepage = [http://www.ggusd.k12.ca.us/phs/files Official site of school Pacifica HS]

Pacifica High School is a high school in Garden Grove, California and is a member of the Garden Grove Unified School District. It first opened on September 5, 1965, on the site of an old pig farm.

Athletics

Pacifica's sports teams are called the Mariners, and compete in Empire League of the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section. Prior to 2006, they competed in the Garden Grove League with the other schools in the district.

Pacifica's softball team is a perennial state (and often national) powerhouse, winning CIF Southern Section titles in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004,and 2007. They won the mythical national championship in 1997.

The Mariner football team has won five consecutive league championships, and reached CIF Southern Section championship games, losing all, in 1978, 1996, 2002 and 2007. The school has been a football powerhouse since the mid-1970s. Former head coach Bill Craven is among the five winningest coaches in Orange County history.

Pacifica's boys basketball team won the CIF-SS III-A championship in 1994, and finished runner-up in the state Division III playoffs, losing to Grant of Sacramento in the title game. It was a rare moment for PHS, which for decades had been a basketball doormat.

The boys soccer team played in the CIF-SS 3-A championship game in 1978 -- the first PHS team to play in a CIF title game -- losing in eight overtimes to Calexico. Two years later Pacifica won its first title in any sport, beating Aviation of Manhattan Beach, 3-2, in the CIF-SS 2-A boys soccer final. CIF Player of the Year Russ Burdeno scored two goals in the game. Hula Boy had the game winning assist to Russ as the Mariners rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit.

The first CIF-SS championship girls team was the girls soccer team, which beat Camarillo in the 1984 final. The team went 144 league games without a loss, a CIF-SS record. The streak ended in the 2007-08 season.

Marching band, drill team & cheer

Pacifica High School Marching Band has a long history of celebrated performances including several in the Rose Parade in the late 1970s. In 2006, The Pacifica Marching Band Drumline took the WGI National gold medal in the PSO division (along with numerous first place finishes throughout Southern California). In 2007, Pacifica's Drumline took gold in SCPA (Southern California Percussion Association) Championships and WGI National once again in the same division, back to back to the previous year. Pacificas Junior Varsity cheer team, 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, won USA Spirit Nationals in the division. The team competed against the top five teams in the division and won first place. Varsity took second place in 2006-2007 in the division at USA Nationals. Varsity competed against the top seven teams in the Large Varsity Intermediate division.Fact|date=November 2007

Notable alumni

*Joel Bishop, mayor of Dana Point, California [ [http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/communities/danapoint/article_1371213.php Orange County Register] ]
*Kevin Connor, bassist for Eudora.
*Jon Dorenbos, active duty long snapper for the Philadelphia Eagles and professional magician. [ [http://www.nfl.com/players/jondorenbos/profile?id=DOR119794 NFL.com Bio] ]
*Michelle Dussere, member of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastic team, 1984
*Amanda Freed, member of the gold medal-winning 2004 U.S. Olympic Softball team.
*Dexter Holland, singer and guitarist for the band, The Offspring
*Norm Johnson, former NFL kicker for the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Philadelphia Eagles. [1978 Pacifica High School yearbook]
*Hugo Kobayashi, noted San Francisco-based artist.
*Greg Kriesel, bassist for The Offspring
*Terry Kubicka, male Olympic ice skater of the 1976 team [1971 Pacifica High School yearbook WGG Library]
*Jodie Legaspi, member of U.S. national softball team.
*Jeffrey Park, director, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies
*Tommy Sandt, former 2nd baseman Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
*Kevin Wasserman, lead guitarist of The Offspring.
*David Choi, singer/songwriter

References

External links

* [http://www.ggusd.k12.ca.us/phs/files Official site of school]