Bob Mattos Football Foundation

Coach Bob Mattos A Brief History at A.A. Stagg High School

Bob Mattos grew up in Newman, Ca. He attended Orestimba High School where he played quarterback. He went on to play at Stockton College, Fresno State and finished college and his playing career at Sacramento State.

His first coaching position was at his alma mater Orestimba High. He later was the head coach at Turlock High before taking the same position at Stagg High School. Coach Mattos had seven glorious seasons with the Delta Kings. He won three consecutive league championships, from 1974-1976, and appeared in the first Sac-Joaquin Division I Championship Game in 1976.

In 1971 after taking over from Bill Gott, who had coached the Delta Kings to its last championship in the previous decade, Coach Mattos began the great rebuilding process to bring Stagg back to championship form. The 1971, 1972 and 1973 teams competed at the highest level but fell just short of the title in each of those years. Those teams laid the groundwork for what was to become the real glory years of A.A. Stagg football in the 1970''''s.

In 1974, Coach Mattos brought championship football back to Stagg for the first time in over a decade. The 1974 Delta Kings won the league title for the first time since 1964, and it was the first of three consecutive SJAA league titles that the Delta Kings would win with Coach Mattos at the helm. Notable among the wins in that 9-1-1 season was the 27-7 defeat of eventual Nevada State Champions, Reno High in the opener at UOP Stadium, and a 42-0 shellacking of eventual CCC champion Merced. The regular season finale pitted classic rival Lodi High and the Delta Kings for the league title in front of a standing room only crowd of more than 18,000 at the Lodi Grape Bowl stadium. Both teams came into the game without a loss. The Delta Kings prevailed 14-3, clinching Coach Mattos'''' 1st league championship at Stagg.

Arguably, his best season came in 1975. The team faced stiff competition all year, opening on the road, against the defending Nevada State Champions, Reno High. The Delta Kings found themselves down 12-0, three minutes into the game. They gathered themselves, completely dominating the boys from Reno, and exploded to a 40-18 victory. That season culminated with another show down against undefeated Lodi High in the season finale. It matched two central valley powerhouses, both undefeated and both highly ranked. At that time the Flames were ranked 5th in the state and Stagg was ranked 3rd in the state. Over 23,000 fans from region filled UOP Stadium. Stagg won convincingly, 35-20. The next week they beat Beyer High in the Turkey Bowl capping off a season that has never been matched. The 1975 team finished 11-0, ranked 3rd in the State and 5th in the Nation.

$6,400.00