1917 and 2012 appear to look very different. In 1917, the year was rife with WWI wartime tragedies, Einstein published his first paper on cosmology, John F Kennedy was born and the 1st jazz record was recorded. In 2012 – well the best is yet to come…
Of course, one important event that these two years have in common – a Duck victory in the Rose Bowl – proving that the west coast can outscore, outrush, outpass and outperform the east coast football powers. 1917 marked the 3rd ever Rose Bowl; 2012 the 98th. In 1917 just over 27,000 fans filled the stands; in 2012 the stands brimmed with more than 91,000 people.
In tribute to the Ducks Rose Bowl victory and a rosy start to 2012, I’d like to call attention to the Northern California Duck football players who helped to make 2012 a successful football season. Kiko Alonso’s interception in the last minutes of the 3rd quarter. Jackson Rice punted for over 138 yards. Michael Clay pounced on a key fumble to recover the ball in the last 6 minutes of the game. John Boyett and Josh Kaddu made several important stops, crushing the momentum of Montee Ball. Our Nothern California players urged us on to victory. Alonso, Rice, Clay, Boyett, Kaddu and others from Northern California made up 12.7% of our 110 man 2011-2012 football roster. They are…
| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown (Prev School) |
| 47 | Alonso, Kiko | LB | 4-Jun | 240 | Jr. | Los Gatos, Calif. (Los Gatos HS) |
| 20 | Boyett, John | FS | 10-May | 202 | Jr. | Napa, Calif. (Napa HS) |
| 46 | Clay, Michael | LB | 11-May | 225 | Jr. | San Jose, Calif. (Bellarmine College Prep) |
| 4 | Dargan, Erick | DB | 11-May | 200 | RFr. | Pittsburg, Calif. (Pittsburg) |
| 26 | Garrick, Carlyle | LB | 2-Jun | 221 | Fr. | Castro Valley, Calif. (Castro Valley HS) |
| 38 | Garrity, Mike | LB | 1-Jun | 221 | RFr. | San Carlos, Calif. (Archbishop Riordan) |
| 56 | Kaddu, Josh | LB | 3-Jun | 235 | Sr. | Vacaville, Calif. (Vacaville HS) |
| 23 | Kelley, B.J. | WR | 2-Jun | 175 | Fr. | Fresno, Calif. (Central HS) |
| 57 | McCandless, Ryan | DE | 2-Jun | 205 | Fr. | Santa Rosa, Calif. (Cardinal Newman HS) |
| 27 | Mitchell, Terrance | DB | Jun-00 | 189 | RFr. | Sacramento, Calif. (Luther Burbank HS) |
| 31 | Patterson, Avery | CB | 10-May | 175 | So. | Pittsburg, Calif. (Pittsburg HS) |
| 49 | Rice, Jackson | P | 3-Jun | 225 | Jr. | Moraga, Calif. (Campolindo HS) |
| 52 | Stuckey, Dewitt | LB | 11-May | 221 | Sr. | Stockton, Calif. (Lincoln HS) |
| 10 | Vaughn, Rahsaan | WR | 2-Jun | 192 | Jr. | Oakland, Calif. (College of San Mateo) (Washington HS) |