• The 1984 undefeated Vanden football team had a record of 12-0 and played several teams physically larger than them and with more players suited—Hogan, St. Patrick's, Oak Ridge, and Folsom

• The team consisted of 3 coaches, 33 players, 3 captains, 1 manager, and 1 assistant

• The team won the 1984 Sac-Joaquin Section title and the SCAL league title

• The team was ranked #2 in the state of California by Cal-Hi Sports. The Vanden squad never faced the #1 ranked team on the gridiron

• In 1984, Vanden high school had 606 students. 126 were seniors. The 1984 team contained 18 seniors and 15 juniors

• The heaviest player on the 1984 Vanden football team was the fullback Maurice Gwinn at 204 pounds, and he was the only player on the team over 200 pounds

• The Trench Crew, the offense and defense linemen, averaged 186 pounds per player. The trenchers played ironman football

• The team was involved in a serious multi-vehicle auto accident, 1/2 mile from the school on Vanden road, on the morning of weigh-ins and physicals for the football players, prior to the start of the 1984 season

• During Hell Week the team did three practices a day, while other teams were doing two. Vanden practiced 7.5 to 9 hours a day, and the Vikings stayed at the school between practices to rest and eat

• The team's quarterback, Ron Beverly, Jr., was the son of the Head Coach Ronald Beverly

• The Vikings starting tailback, Bryan Batchan, rushed for 1539 yards and caught passes for an additonal 220 yards, combining for 1759 total yards and 16 touchdowns

• The Vikings outscored their opponents 301- 132

• The Vanden trenchers used "movie-character names" to confuse defenses and give the offense an edge when the ball was hiked

• The Vikings linebackers were known as "The Orient Express"

• One of the nose guards on the team was nicknamed "Murdock" after the 1980's A-Team show character for his zany behavior

• The 1984 team was the first time a Vanden football squad finished regular season undefeated, and the first time a team finished the year undefeated. It was Vanden's second Section Title win

• Game eleven, in the second round of the playoffs, pitted #2 ranked Vanden against the #3 ranked team in California, Folsom. Vanden won 14-0

• The 1984 team spent all its time on the practice field and only stepped onto the game gridiron, the George Gammon Field, to face an opponent

• In 1984, the varsity and JV Viking football teams went undefeated. That fall Vanden's football program was perfect with a 21-0 record. The top players on the undefeated JV team were brought up to the varsity level for the playoffs to add depth in case of injuries to the varsity players. A few of the JV players did see action during the playoffs

• The head coach, Ronald Beverly, was an alumnus of the first class of Vanden in 1965. He played on the first football team as a receiver and caught the first touchdown for the program in 1964

• Coach Beverly pushed conditioning and perfect practices as a key to winning. In 1984, the team was more mentally and physically prepared than any team they faced. Conditioning was the key in the fourth quarter

• The trench crew captain, Jeff Rooney - (Author of the book), overcame a serious head injury from a gridiron hit during his junior year that ended his season early, to lead the trenchers during his senior season

• The 1984 Vanden Vikings football team contained six teammates that played together for five seasons on three undefeated teams, amassing a record of 45-4-2. Glenn Barretto, Bryan Batchan, Jeff Martin, Mark Baranowski, John McClellan, and Jeff Rooney played on the 1980 11-0 undefeated Travis Redskins Pop Warner team, the 1982 9-0 undefeated and unscored-upon Vanden JV team and the 1984 12-0 Viking Champions

• In game 12, the Section Championship playoff against Hilmar, Vanden was leading 20-0 late in the fourth quarter and had played flawless football. Two fumbles late in the game in Viking territory allowed two quick scores by Hilmar for 14 points. Final score was 20-14

• A typical practice ended with (20) 40-yard dashes, (10) gassers—200-yard timed sprints—and (1) end zone to end zone progressive in full uniform. On the Monday after a game the amount of points that were scored against Vanden by an opposing team were added to the amount of 40-yard dashes they had to run. Oak Ridge scored the most points against the Vikings all year, 27. That Monday after playing them, the team ran (47) 40-yard dashes, (10) gassers, and the dreadful progressive. In the fourth quarter during games the Vikings were still fresh while other teams were getting tired