Hilltop’s golden boy Wagner returns to Super Bowl XXIX glory

The National Football League is commemorating Super Bowl 50 with its NFL High School Honor Roll golden anniversary celebration. Every player and coach who participated in the preceding 49 Super Bowl games will receive a special golden football, and so will that person’s high school.

Hilltop High School received its golden football last week, courtesy of 1980 graduate Bryan Wagner, who participated in Super Bowl XXIX with the San Diego Chargers. The school marked the occasion with last Friday’s fall sports assembly in which Wagner, who now lives in Ohio, was the special guest.

The years have not diminished the pride Wagner felt playing in the 1994 NFL championship game, nor his emotional ties to his alma mater.

“It meant a lot to the school,” he said of his decision to attend last Friday’s spirit-filled event. “This is where it all started.”

Indeed, it did.

Wagner gained notoriety when he set the then San Diego Section record for longest field goal when he kicked a 53-yard field goal in a game against Castle Park on Oct. 26, 1979.

Wagner’s record has since been eclipsed and he now ranks ninth overall and second among Metro Conference kickers to Otay Ranch alumnus Brian Lewis, who booted a 54-yard field goal against Bonita Vista on Oct. 27, 2006.

The current section record is 58 yards, set in 1995 by Rancho Bernardo’s Nate Tandberg and tied in 1997 by Torrey Pines’ Hayden Epstein.

Wagner continues to own the section record for field goals kicked in most consecutive games (eight), and also continues to rank in the section record book with 11 field goals (13th overall, made during the 1979 season) and 19 career field goals (tied for ninth, made from 1978-79).

He also ranks sixth all-time in the section record book with a 78-yard punt against Marian Catholic on Oct. 19, 1979.
The NFL will award 3,000 golden footballs as part of its High School Honor Roll recognition program. Gold is a special theme this season, starting with the NFL logo embossed on playing fields, 50-yard markers and trim around team logos on helmets. All have gold outlines.

Wagner enjoyed a nine-year playing career in the NFL — longer than many players — though his success was not immediate.

He played for five teams during his NFL career and it took the one-time three-sport athlete at Hilltop (football, soccer and baseball) three tries before he finally managed to stick with an NFL team.

Following high school, Wagner went on to play college football at Cal-State Northridge where he became a two-time all-American punter. He signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.

“I got cut there, came back here and worked out to get better,” he said. “I signed the next year with the Giants.”
It was during training camp that he was traded to Chicago. He played two seasons for the Bears (1987-88).

In Wagner’s case, perseverance paid off.

“I took a deep breath (at that point) because it took me three years to get there,” he said. “Being told you’re not good enough by (Cowboys coach) Tom Landry was hard to take.”

Wagner went to the NFC championship game with Chicago in 1988 under coach Mike Ditka but the Bears lost, 28-3, to the San Francisco 49ers. He recorded the longest punt of his NFL career (71 yards) with Chicago during the 1987 season.
Wagner spent the next two years in Cleveland, reaching the AFC championship game in 1989.

Wagner played three games with the New England Patriots during the 1991 season, then spent the 1992 and 1993 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

He returned home to play for the Chargers during the 1994 season — the season the Bolts reached the Super Bowl. Wagner appeared in 14 games for the Chargers, recording a 41.6 punting average with 20 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line and three touchbacks.

The Chargers finished 11-5 during regular season play. Wagner and his teammates edged the Miami Dolphins, 22-21, in the divisional round of the playoffs, then upended the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-13, in the AFC championship game.
The Bolts lost, 49-26, to the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Still, it was a special season for Wagner.

“Just to come back here and play for the team I grew up rooting for and to go to the Super Bowl was a dream come true,” he said.

Wagner closed out his NFL career with the Patriots in 1995. He recorded his best punting average (42.9) in 1993 with the Packers.

“I can look back now and say I played a lot but I wish I could have played more,” he said.

Wagner now coaches high school football. His advice to current players is to enjoy what they are doing because playing the game they love only lasts for so long.

“You need to enjoy everything you can,” he said. “You want to enjoy every game, every down and have no regrets. You don’t want to be one of those guys who looks back 10 years later and wishes they could have done this or done that.”

Wagner, who played under coaches Mike Holmgren, Bill Parcells and Bobby Ross besides Ditka, was molded into shape by his high school experiences. He said he was inspired by his dreams and accomplishments to “do something I couldn’t do.”

That transfers directly to coaching. “I have been there and done that — I can inspire the kids to follow what I did, and be the best they can be,” he said.