No place like home

Steve Virgen

The New York Giants’ Ron Dixon had just ran 97 yards for a

touchdown in Super Bowl XXXV and devastated, mostly, Baltimore Ravens

Special Teams Coach Russ Purnell. Dixon’s kickoff return brought new life

to the Giants as they scored their first touchdown and cut their deficit,

17-7.

Purnell, who played as a center for Orange Coast College in 1966 and

1967, was disappointed, but hardly worrisome. He was confident in his

kickoff return team.

He was confident because he relied on what brought him through 15

years of the NFL and into its biggest game. He relied on the attitude and

the love he developed while playing at OCC, then Whittier College and

coaching stints at Whittier, Corona del Mar High, and Edison High, where

he was on staff with former Orange Coast Coach Bill Workman and current

Pirates’ Coach Mike Taylor. They accounted for much success, including,

back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division I titles in 1979 and 1980.

Purnell never worried, indeed.

The Ravens answered the Giants’ only challenge when Jermaine Lewis

returned the ensuing kickoff for an 84-yard touchdown, leading to the

Ravens’ first Super Bowl title.

“I was very disappointed and upset we gave up seven points,” Purnell

said during a telephone conversation last week. “But, our guys answered

the challenge. After Jermaine’s touchdown, all that momentum that was on

their sideline went right back on our side. The Giants knew at that point

they were never going to score 17 points to get back in the game. That

let the air out of their balloon. We had our way the rest of the game.”

Monday, after a short vacation, Purnell returns to work. He says the

NFL is a competitive business and he’s well aware of his job’s

importance, which was displayed throughout the championship season.

He coached placekicker Matt Stover, who earned Pro Bowl honors and

carried the Ravens when they went more than five games (21 quarters)

without a touchdown. Baltimore won two of the five games.

Purnell was also responsible for punter Kyle Richardson who led the

league with 20 punts inside-the-20. Last season, Richardson set an NFL

record with 39 punts inside-the-20.

Purnell said his success dates back to his playing days at OCC where

he strengthened his love for the game and discovered a hunger for

winning, teaching and learning.

He decided he had a calling for coaching and he began his career as a

graduate assistant at Whittier College. In 1972, he went to Corona del

Mar where he worked with head coach Dave Holland, who had a strong

influence on his future, Purnell said.

“I learned a lot of football from him,” Purnell said of Holland. “That

was a real positive experience for me. I admire him an awful lot.”

During the season they shared, CdM experienced some hardships, but had

a chance to redeem themselves if they were to defeat unbeaten Edison.

Holland, Purnell and the rest of the Sea Kings shaved their heads in

spirit of the big game and they went on to end Edison’s seven-game

winning streak, 17-7.

Holland said he and Purnell touch on the story as they have kept in

touch through the years.

“I was really pulling for Russ,” Holland said of his thoughts while

watching the Super Bowl. “You know, he hasn’t changed any. After

(Dixon’s) touchdown, I could see that he was really calm.”

After CdM, Purnell coached at Edison, 1973-81, and met OCC Coach Mike

Taylor. They also keep in touch.

Purnell said he had been keeping track of the Pirates’ season and

empathized as OCC scored just nine points through its first three games.

The week prior to the Super Bowl, Purnell and Taylor shared a barbecue

dinner at Purnell’s house. Taylor was in Washington D.C. to visit his

daughter, Nicole, as both attended the President’s Inauguration.

“I was happy for him,” Taylor said of Purnell’s Super Bowl win.

“That’s a fragile business as you see people moving, (hirings and

firings). When you’re awarded with the Super Bowl, it’s one of those

things, like a college degree, you can’t take it away.”

Purnell said he truly cherishes the Super Bowl win because it came

possible through the years he spent as working as a high school coach.

“I’ve learned a lot from coaching,” Purnell said. “Coaching is a slice

of life; it’s a reflection of life. I had some of my best memories

coaching in Orange County. That’s when the real coaching takes place,

when the kids don’t know how to put on the hip pads or thigh pads. The

National Football League is a very competitive business. There’s really

only one way you’re measured and that’s by wins. You can contribute so

much at the high school level.”