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Honors
Tacoma News Tribune Amateur Coach of
the Year
Steve Harshman (1974, 77, 79)
Doug Jansen - 1973 Can-Am Bowl MVP
Ron Baines - 1976 NIFL MVP
Steve Levensellar - 1980 Jamboree Offensive MVP
Mike Nielsen, DB - 1977 All-Minor League Team
Steve Dionis, LB - 1977 All-Minor League Team
George Van Over, OT - 1977 All-Minor League Team
All-League
Steve Harshman OL (NIFL 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
George Van Over, OT (NIFL 1979 1st)
Glen Hover, C (NIFL 1979 1st)
Scott Lazor, OT (NIFL 1979 1st)
Harry Washington, WR (NIFL 1979 1st)
Nathan Bradford, RB (NIFL 1979 1st)
Bill Donckers, QB (NIFL 1979 1st)
Dan Graham, QB (NIFL 1979 1st)
Mark Conrad, PK/P (NIFL 1979 1st)
Loren Mulkins, DL (NIFL 1979 1st)
Lynn Hover, LB (NIFL 1979 1st)
Tim Thompson, LB (NIFL 1979 1st)
Steve Levensellar, DB (NIFL 1979 1st) KR (1979 2nd)
Mike Fitzpatrick, DB (NIFL 1979 1st)
Bob Ross, TE (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Dave Cobabe, OG (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Al Ketter, WR (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Dewey Brawley, RB (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Bob Jones, DL (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Lou Roberts, DL (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Steve Dionas, LB (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Mark Patterson, DB (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Bob Sonneman, DB (NIFL 1979 2nd)
Willis Freeman, WR (NIFL 1979 Hon Men)
Ken Swan, RB (NIFL 1979 Hon Men)
Sam Warren, DB (NIFL 1979 Hon Men)
Phil Pettit, LB (NIFL 1979 Hon Men)
Gary Lovrovich, TE (NIFL 1979 Hon Men)
Noel Barnes, OT (NIFL 1978 2nd)
Mike Nielsen, DB (NIFL 1975)
All-America
The 1973 Bengals were the first team since the
Tyees to call the Tacoma region home and virtually exploded onto the
scene behind the strong arm of Bill Donckers. The former San Diego
State star led an expectedly weak expansion team in tearing up the NIFL until the All-Stars
upset the Bengals in the finale. Harold Montgomery had a team-high
4 rushing TD's on Oct 28 versus Skagit Valley. Doug Jansen earned
player of the game honors in the Can-Am Bowl by intercepting 2 passes,
one for a TD and recording 7 tackles.
The 1974 edition got a boost on Aug 24 when Bob
Furguson fresh from being cut by the LA Rams, locked down the
linebacking corps. Two weeks later, Bill Donckers returned from
Oakland Raiders camp, and Ira Hammond returned from the Redskins camp
and the Bengals began ripping through the league being stopped only when
Bob Cason's 4 TD passes forced a Cavaliers-Bengals tie. 53-year
old Dick Barnes opened the scoring with a 23-yard FG when the Bengals
tripped again and lost to the All-Stars 12-6. Ron Baines took the
reigns at QB on Sept 28, and Ira Hammond scored 4 TD's when Donckers
went down with an injury.
In 1975 the season started with a loss and could
have been a bad omen for the Bengals. However, salvation arrived
in the form of Mark Cahill. Cahill, a backup to Steve Bartkowski
at Cal, left school and proceeded to rip apart defenses in the NIFL to
the tune of 125 completions on 231 attempts for 1,938 and 26 touchdowns
in 7 games.
The 1976 Bengals were a steamroller of a team which
shut out 8 opponents and gave up only 57 points in 12 games. Ron
Baines hauled in 4 TD passes on 6 for 78 yards receiving against Skagit
Valley upping his total to 10 on the season. The following week
only 19 Lakers arrived forcing a unique timing decision. Two
19-minute quarters were played followed by one 15 minute running-clock
quarter to try and cut down on injuries. The Vikings opted to
forfeit it's playoff game with the Bengals sending Pierce County to the
Championship against the Burien (Sea-Tac) Flyers where they won 7-0.
Baines was named Player of the Year.
In 1977, Pierce County was invited to play in San
Jose, CA, in the first annual Holiday Bowl against the San Jose Tigers
and a shot at the West Coast Championship. In a thrilling finish,
the Bengals took the crown from the California League Champions with a
stunning 28-27 victory.
The 1978 Bengals felt the sting of their first loss
to a regular-season league opponent in 5 years when they dropped the season opener to
Burien 14-3. They literally "gave" the game away turning the ball
over seven times. '78 was also the first time a Bengal team had a
stable of quarterbacks to choose from using a steady rotation of Dan
Graham, Jeff Smith, and Lonnie Berger who played most of the Burien game
with blurred vision after taking a forearm that penetrated inside his
facemask. Ron Baines left as regular Bengal receiver to take the
reigns as defensive coordinator in '78. The Oct 28 playoff battle
with the Seattle Cavaliers was an epic comeback as the Bengals trailed
20-2 at the start of the fourth quarter. In a matter of 7 1/2
minutes the Bengals scored 3 touchdowns, converted a fake punt on the
drive for the second TD, and Loren Mulkins blocked a Cavalier punt that
was recovered on the Cavalier 20 prior to scoring the final TD.
The game wasn't over yet. With 2:05 to go the Cavaliers had one
last chance but a 22-yd FG try fell short. The Bengals weren't so
lucky the following week in the championship as the Flyers used Mark
Kreutz's three INT's to thwart the Bengals offensive firepower. A
return trip to the Holiday Bowl in San Jose saw the Tigers exact their
revenge with a 43-13 verdict.
Most of the '79 squad returned with the exception
of all 3 QB's. Harshman announced that former UPS signal caller
Ivy Iverson had won the job prior to the 1980 Jamboree.
Mark Conrad, released by the Seahawks as a punter
in August, booted a 47-yd FG with :02 left to tie Spokane in the NIFL
Championship, then added a 34-yarder in the 13th minute of sudden death OT to win the
game for the Bengals and complete an undefeated 1979 season. When
the final polls came out, the Bengals were the only remaining undefeated
minor league team and Pro Football Weekly Magazine rewarded the club
with their number one ranking and a mythical national championship.
He went on to set a Northwest record, 64-yard field goal in a 58-0 rout
against the Seattle Cavaliers on Aug 23, 1980.
Conrad kicked for the University of Puget Sound from 1971-1974 earning
Little All-Northwest honors four years in a row for his kicking and
punting and was inducted into the UPS Hall of Fame in 2000. |
