Finished season 7-1-1

Undefeated conference record and NCIC conference champs

Finished ranked #7 in final state rankings

The 1973 Sterling Golden Warriors football team was also one of the best in school history as they carried on the excellence from the 1972 team the year before. They finished the season with an 7-1-1 record which included an undefeated record of 5-0 leading to the NCIC Conference Championship. The team's only blemishes included a tie with Peoria Spaulding and a loss to a very strong Freeport team at the end of the year. The team was ranked #1 in the state going into that game and with no playoff system at that time, they finished the season ranked #7 in the final state rankings.

This team was also strong on offense but defensively was one of the best teams that Sterling has seen. The Warriors gave up on average only 7 points per game while scoring 274 points or an average of 30 points per game.

Varsity coaches for this outstanding team were Head Coach Jim Scott, long-time assistant and defensive coordinator Jay Rhodes, offensive coordinator Dick Zion, and Gary Lewison. The sophomore coaches were Gordy Nunemaker, Jim McKinzie, and Bob Brown. The freshman coaches were Ken Johnson and Duwayne Dietz.

This team boasted 11 NCIC All-Conference players and Jeff Sellers received All-State honors. As many as 6 players continued playing football in college. The 1973 became the second SHS team in a row to end the season ranked in the top ten. These two teams truly deserve their recognition as two of the top teams in the history of Sterling High School football.

Members of the team include Jason Anderson '75, Bill Astary '74, Chris Baldwin '75, Greg Brown '75, Fred Clark '75, Jack Clemens '75, Mark Coppic '74, Jim Czuprynski '74, Brad Davis '75, Jerry Dean '75, Kim Deets '74, Lyle Dettman '75, Steve Foulds '75, Perry Frey '75, Curt Garriot '74, Steve Gibble '74, Dave Gould '75, Frank Harts '76, Ron Hulteen '74, Marty Huntley '75, Tom Johnson '74, Tim Kilday '74, Mark Landis '75, Scott Lawrence '75, Scott Marsh '74, Steve Marschang '75, Bob Martin '75, Dan McMillin '75, Doug Miller '75, Chuck Musgrove '75, Greg Musgrove '75, Greg Pratt '75, Doug Renkes '75, Doug Schmaling '75, Jeff Sellers '74, Gary Skrogstad '75, Dave Smith '75, Ernie Smith '74, Mike Stockwell '74, Dale Sutkay '75, Doug Terlizzi '74, Eugene Vandermoon '75, Luis Vasquez '75, Gary Warner '74, Tim Weaver '74, Tom Weaver '74, Mike Wietlispach '75, Greg Yemm '74, and Don Ziegler '74. The managers include Daryl Gaumer '74, Clark Johnson '74, Steve Johnson '74 and Mike Lancaster '74. The coaches include head coach Jim Scott, assistant coaches Jay Rhodes, Dick Zion and Gary Lewison.