Former Redwood football players give their thoughts on their children carrying the family legacy in upcoming Cowhide game

By: Tyler Stark

Every year the Cowhide game draws massive interest from the community of Visalia. The interest Cowhide garners stems from the long 66 year history of the game.  For a few of the players the tradition of Cowhide has a little extra meaning to them and their families.

Ranger right guard Bj Wainwright ‘24 is currently carrying on the legacy set by his father as a Redwood linemen. Daniel Wainwright ‘90 was a right guard who eventually converted over to the right tackle position for the Rangers.

Wainwright says that he is very proud of his son and loves watching him play.

“I’m so proud of BJ. It’s great watching him play. He is so much better than I ever was and it is cool that he plays the same positions that I did.  I ended up being 0-4 against Mount Whitney during my four years of playing.  So, I hope he can have some level of success against the crosstown rival that I was never able to achieve.”

 Bj Wainwright says that it’s been great to play for Redwood and follow in his father’s footsteps.

 “It’s really great to play for the Rangers just like my dad. It’s awesome that I get to be on the same field my father played on. He was a great lineman and he is a great dad. I strive to be like him on and off the field. I love my dad.”

Wainwright continues by saying a Cowhide win would be huge for his family, and says he wants to beat the team that his father never could.

“A Cowhide win would mean a lot because it would be the first Cowhide won by a Wainwright. My dad never beat Whitney, including his two years on Varsity. I do not want that to be a family tradition.”

Quarterback Francisco “Frankie” Alvarez ‘23  grew up watching his brother Raul Alvarez ‘13 play quarterback for the Rangers and play in cowhide games.

Alvarez says that from the time he was young he knew he wanted to experience the Cowhide tradition just like his brother did.

“It was something magical, especially from my perspective since I was so young.  That made me motivated to experience this tradition just like him.”

A massive advantage of having an older sibling who played in a big time rivalry game is the advice they can provide.

Raul Alvarez says “Some advice I’d give my brother Frankie would have to be to just have fun and play your game! It’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of what’s going on, but control what you can control!”

The 2022 Redwood football season has seen big contributions from the running game. Running backs Alex Perch ‘24 and his brother Jacob Perch ‘23 have been the primary ball carriers for the Rangers.

Their Father BJ Perch ‘94, A former quarterback for Redwood, says that watching his boys play football brings back a lot of memories from his playing days.

“Watching Alex and Jacob this year brings back so many great memories of Ranger football.  I often remind them to soak up this time, and enjoy each game, and their teammates because it goes by so fast.  Cowhide has such great history, tradition, and atmosphere.  I can still remember entering the packed stadium with a roaring crowd.  It is such a great feeling.” 

Jacob Perch says playing on the same field as his dad is a great feeling for him and his brother.

 “It’s really awesome. It’s a great feeling playing on Friday nights and being a part of the game our dad used to always tell us stories about. It was super awesome getting to hear all of his high school stories back when he played in the Mineral King Bowl and I remember wanting so badly to be able to do the same thing when I got older. Now that I’m older and am able to play there myself, it’s an amazing feeling. Now I will be able to tell my kids in the years to come all of my stories just like he did to us.”

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