Rohnert Park Sports Icons Remembered, Honored at Rancho Cotate High School Hall of Fame Gala

For the second year in a row, Rancho Cotate High’s Cougar Boosters have looked back into Rohnert Park’s sports history, and dug up icons — people who impacted the city as a whole and who no doubt changed individual lives — and honored them with an induction into Rancho Cotate’s High School Hall of Fame.

The famed 1971 Rancho Cotate Cougars football team made people pay attention to Rohnert Park when they were named number one in the Redwood Empire, said former football coach Dave Francis  — the team carried a season with nine wins and zero losses and won the Sonoma County League Championship.

There was Robert Daggett, the first principal of , which opened its doors on Sept. 5, 1967 with a student population of 550. Daggett has since passed, but was honored posthumously.

The list goes on: Claude Brock, a teacher and assistant football coach; Norm Hanson, football and wrestling coach, and multi-sport athletes with stellar accomplishments who have gone on to be outstanding citizens, such as Ray Jones, who graduated in 1974 and today is the fire chief for the city of Sacramento.

But, there’s no doubt that everyone in the crowd of about 300 people who packed the Community Center last night agreed that one woman stood out amongst each athlete. Without her, some of their stories might have never been told.

Dora Gossage, who covered sports for Rohnert Park and Cotati for the Clarion newspaper for 22 years, starting in 1970.

Gossage chose her words carefully when she accepted the honor Saturday night. She clenched a bouquet of red roses just so that her perfectly manicured pink nails just wrapped round the stems. She surveyed the audience, glanced down, and smiled.

“What an impressive collection of people,” Gossage said, as the crowd settled into their seats after a roaring standing ovation. “To see all you kids again … some of you I haven’t seen in since you were 18, it’s magical.”

“I had reservations about being here tonight,” she admitted. “I couldn’t understand why I was being nominated; it’s caused me to do a bit of reflection.”

Gossage said there was a story — one story — that she never wrote, but should have. It was a story about a young football player who died of cancer, Danny Dettling. The team stuck behind him, and at one game in particular, refused to go to the field without him even though Dettling was sick.

“It was Danny that made me see beyond the numbers … he taught me that we’re all in this together … it doesn’t matter if we win or lose." 

“I hope you don’t think this is a sad story,” Gossage continued. “It isn’t. If I am in any way deserving of this award, it’s because of Danny Dettling, because of what I learned during his time.”

The crowd applauded, some cried, some simply sat back and smiled. That’s what the night was for, reflection and recognizing the amazing people who have touched the athletes here. 

“We’re here to honor the exceptional athletes of the school,” said Connie Strouse, president of the boosters.

“I taught here 35 years,” said Dave Francis, a former teacher and coach. “I loved it, and I met some of the best people I’ve ever known in my life. Some people may not remember  that when we started out, we had no field. We actually filled the cracks in the Adobe in so we could play.”

“It feels so good to be back here,” Jones said. “It was such a fun, nurturing place to grow up — we all knew eachother.” 

Other inductees include: Bill Garrod, Denny Plyer, Pete Marshall, Steve Wlodarczyk, Wayne Hill, Gary Soto, Jacqeline Komrij, Angie Williams, Maurice Thompson, Casey Alderson, Amey Mitchell, Corey Nelson and Blair Gabler.