CALDWELL, Idaho – Homecoming Week has arrived on the College of Idaho campus, with the Coyote football team set to host Carroll College this Saturday afternoon at Simplot Stadium.
Homecoming has been a fixture on the campus for generations – through the golden era of Coyote Football, through soccer and volleyball matches during the 80s, 90s and 00s – with football rekindling the spirit in 2014.
Memorable moments dot the landscape of the celebration – with C of I athletic communications director Mike Safford researching nearly every Homecoming Game dating back into the 1930s.
Here is a brief history of C of I football homecoming games:
Nov. 18, 1933 - C of I 7, Whitman 7: Athol Sayre scored on a 7-yard touchdown run and Mark Maxwell kicked the tying extra point for the tie.
Nov. 17, 1934 - C of I 13, Linfield 0: Bob Hoobler scored two touchdowns on a muddy field for the Coyote win.
Nov. 9, 1935 - Whitman 3, C of I 0: Bob Nells converts a 12-yard drop kick for the only points in the game.
Nov. 7, 1936 - C of I 14, Pacific 7: Paul Hayman scores two touchdowns and kicks two extra points in the victory.
Oct. 30, 1937 - Whitman 20, C of I 0: An estimated 3,000 fans watch Whitman dominate play in the Coyote loss.
1938-41: Incomplete Information
Oct. 16, 1942 - Idaho State 6, C of I 0: Dubbed the Lettuce Bowl to help raise funds for the War, the Bengals score a second quarter touchdown for the lone points.
1943-45: No Football Due to World War II
Nov. 16, 1946 - C of I 13, Puget Sound 7: Tom Winbigler intercepted two passes and scored a touchdown for the Yotes in their first Homecoming game since the end of World War II.
Nov. 22, 1947 - C of I 24, Lewis & Clark 6: Tom Winbigler scored on a 60-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game before 5,000 fans at Hayman Field.
Oct. 23, 1948 - C of I 20, Pacific 14: Glen Ward returned the second half kickoff 92-yards for a touchdown to spark the Coyote win.
Oct. 22, 1949 - C of I 21, Linfield 7: Tom Winbigler's school record 96-yard touchdown run got the Yotes on the board and a John Park to LaVon Scott scoring pass capped the win.
Oct. 14, 1950 - C of I 28, Whitman 20: LaVon Scott rushed 22 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns, with Bob Morford adding 67 yards rushing in the victory.
Oct. 6, 1951 - C of I 27, Linfield 26: Ted Martin scored on a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:05 remaining to lift the Coyotes to victory; Bob Morford scored three touchdowns and Boyd Crawford was 8-of-13 for 131 yards through the air.
Oct. 18, 1952 - C of I 20, Lewis & Clark 13: Ted Martin and Bob Morford scored rushing touchdowns, with Boyd Crawford finding Ed Bonaminio on an 8-yard touchdown pass, as the Coyotes won before 5,500 fans at Hayman Field.
Nov. 7, 1953 - C of I 45, Whitman 20: The Coyotes clinched the Northwest Conference title with the rout of the Missionaries. R.C. Owens caught six passes for 156 yards and two scores, including a 75-yard reception, with Ted Martin returning a punt 88 yards for a score.
Oct. 23, 1954 - C of I 20, Pacific 12: The Coyotes scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes to pull out the win; Bob Sloan's 1-yard scoring run and R.C. Owens extra point erased a 12-6 deficit, with Joe Kahahawai returning a fumble late for a touchdown.
Oct. 15, 1955 - C of I 20, Willamette 13: Gary Collins go-ahead 4-yard touchdown run with seven minutes left helped the Yotes to victory.
Oct. 6, 1956 - Lewis & Clark 34, C of I 19: Ed Lodge scored two early TDs, but L&C scored 34 straight points to hand the Yotes their first Homecoming loss since losing to Idaho State in 1942, 6-0.
Oct. 26, 1957 - Willamette 33, C of I 21: The Bearcats scored the go-ahead touchdown with just two minutes left to stun the Yotes. Charlie Alvaro connected with Ron Morrison for one of C of I's three scores.
Oct. 18, 1958 - C of I 28, Pacific 14: Gary Lappan and Dick Garner scored touchdowns in the Coyote win, while Charlie Alvaro threw for 182 yards and a scoring pass to Bob Bement.
Oct. 10, 1959 - C of I 14, Linfield 14: Charlie Alvaro scored a touchdown with 19 seconds left and kicked the tying extra point to salvage a tie with the Wildcats; Alvaro was 8-for-19 for 126 yards in the draw.
Nov. 5, 1960 - Pacific 35, C of I 13: The Badgers passed for 278 yards in the victory; Larry Anderson caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Bill Ransom in the loss.
Oct. 14, 1961 - C of I 34, Willamette 24: Garry Matlock rushed for 64 yards and a score and returned a kickoff 93 yards for another touchdown before 3,500 fans at Hayman Field.
Oct. 13, 1962 - Lewis & Clark 49, C of I 0: The Pioneers held a 511-122 edge in total yards in the blowout win; Bill Cunningham was 10-of-15 for 45 yards through the air for the Yotes.
Oct. 12, 1963 - C of I 13, Whitman 0: A Bill Cunningham to Dave Barton TD pass and a Roger Black TD run help the Yotes earn the win before 2,300 fans.
Oct. 10, 1964 - Pacific 7, C of I 0: In the first Homecoming game at Simplot Stadium, 3,000 fans watch Dick Wiese score on a second quarter TD run to give the Badgers the win; Ross Magnuson had 68 yards on 16 carries for the Coyotes.
Oct. 9, 1965 - C of I 40, Whitman 12: Steve Mendoza returned the opening kickoff 85-yards for a touchdown and Bill Coverley intercepted a pass for a score in the Coyote win.
Oct. 15, 1966 - C of I 27, Pacific Lutheran 27: Lon Troxel found Dave Sonnenberg on a 3-yard TD pass with 36 seconds left as the Yotes played the Knights to a draw.
Oct. 14, 1967 - Linfield 21, C of I 7: The Wildcats held the Yotes to just 157 yards of offense; a Lon Troxel to Dave Sonnenberg TD strike accounted for the lone C of I tally.
Oct. 12, 1968 - C of I 27, Pacific 14: Cisco Limbago caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Lon Troxel in the Coyote win before 3,500 fans on a rainy day at Simplot Stadium.
Oct. 11, 1969 - C of I 28, Whitman 22: Lon Troxel set a school record, going 21-of-41 for 369 yards through the air, but scored the game winner on the ground with 22 seconds left;
Cisco Limbago caught 10 passes for 169 yards.
Oct. 24, 1970 - Lewis & Clark 44, C of I 8: George Crawford picked off a Pioneer pass and rambled a school-record 97 yards for the lone Coyote touchdown.
Oct. 23, 1971 - Linfield 14, C of I 7: Dan Uranga scored the Coyotes lone touchdown in the defensive struggle; Rick Jensen rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries.
Oct. 14, 1972 - Lewis & Clark 23, C of I 16: A late touchdown pass by the Pioneers erased a 16-15 Coyote lead, as L&C stole the win; Rick Jensen had a 38-yard touchdown run and Tom Attebery tossed a touchdown pass to Sandy Heath for C of I.
Nov. 3, 1973 - C of I 24, Whitman 6: Craig Belle rushed for 152 yards on 26 carries and Steve Douglas added 110 yards on the ground in the Coyote win.
Oct. 12, 1974 - Willamette 9, C of I 0: Six Coyote turnovers plagued the squad before 2,000 fans; Don Anderson and Bill Combo combined to pass for 172 yards in the loss.
Oct. 25, 1975 - C of I 21, Lewis & Clark 6: Steve Douglas rushed for 92 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, as the Coyotes scored 21 fourth quarter points to defeat the Pioneers before 673 fans at rainy Simplot Stadium.
Oct. 23, 1976 - Linfield 40, C of I 16: Mark Palmore rushed for 91 yards and Dave McAnaney was 13-of-23 for 136 yards through the air in the loss before 897 fans.
Oct. 8, 1977 - Lewis & Clark 42, C of I 23: The Coyotes led 16-14 at halftime, but the Pioneers passed for 252 of their 318 yards in the second half for the win; Don Coloma caught a 35-yard TD pass from Robert Spriggs, Mark Palmore and Randy Osler had TD runs, and Phil Keene kicked a 35-yard field goal for the Yotes.
1978-2013: No Football Program
Oct. 11, 2014 - C of I 35, MSU-Northern 31: Before over 5,100 fans,
Josh Lopez stopped Josh Luomo at the goal line as time expired, as the Yotes earned their first Homecoming win in 39 years;
Ryan Texeira rushed for 151 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown with 47 seconds left.
Sept. 19, 2015 - Southern Oregon 42, C of I 27: Teejay Gordon surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career on the day, but the Yotes could not hold a 14-7 second quarter lead against the No. 4 ranked Raiders.
Oct. 8, 2016 - Carroll 28, C of I 25: Marcus Lenhardt caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns, but the Yotes could not overcome three Dylan Green touchdowns as the Fighting Saints held on for the win.
Sept. 16, 2017 - C of I 28, Eastern Oregon 20: The Yotes limited EOU to just 27 yards rushing in the second half to upset the No. 11 ranked team in the NAIA.
Darius-James Peterson rushed for 105 yards and
Mike Kirby scored two touchdowns in the win.
