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Vaca Coach a Bulldog 'til the end By Daily Republic staff | September 26, 2008 16:48 If nothing else, Tom Zunino was a communicator. There wasn't a timeout he was afraid to burn if he had something to say. He also didn't hesitate to pull a player aside, look him in the eye and explain the true meaning of football. Zunino, coach of the Vacaville High football team for 37 years, died at his home early Friday morning after a long battle with cancer. Called 'Z' by his friends, fellow coaches and former players -- a roll call that extends into the hundreds -- Zunino was a Bulldog to the end, fully planning to coach this fall before his declining health wouldn't allow it. A major accomplishment of Zunino's was making Vacaville athletics, especially football, meaningful. When he took over in 1961, the Bulldogs hadn't won a league championship in football since 1949 and only two total. By his retirement in 1997, Vacaville had added nine more league titles and was a force in the full spectrum of boys and girls sports.

Z Rock Tribute Video More Articles: Vallejo Times-Herald The Reporter - Article 1 The Reporter - Article 2 Sacramento Bee Daily Republic - Article 1 Daily Republic - Article 2 Coach Z's History

Even after stepping down, Zunino never really left the program and certainly never became irrelevant, coordinating the defense for the 2006 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champions coached by son-in-law Mike Papadopoulos. What stands out is the seamless transition of power after Zunino retired. Longtime assistant Fred Jones took over in 1998, followed by Ed Santopadre in 2004 and Papadopoulos in 2005. No forced retirement, no power struggles, no petty jealousies. Indeed, the Bulldogs improved after Zunino retired greatly because of how he'd set up the program. The whole point was to put the best Vacaville football team on the field. Ten straight winning seasons, nine section playoff appearances and six Monticello Empire League championships to go with the 2006 section crown are ample testimony. 'We got better after he left because of him, because of what he taught us,' said Santopadre, an assistant principal at Vacaville. 'Just keeping the family together was easy to do because he taught us so well.'