Damewood was the Cougars’ fourth head coach, serving 3 seasons, 1970-72, at the helm while guiding the program to a 9-17 record in that time. His finest season came in 1971 when he led the Cougars to a 4-5 record and collected the program’s first-ever victories over eventual longtime rivals La Verne College, Pomona College and Occidental College.

 

Damewood was just 30 years old when he took over the Cougar program after serving the 2 previous years as an assistant on the staff of head coach John Crandall. He also had been on staff at Glendale (Calif.) Community College and his alma mater Monrovia (Calif.) High School.

 

His collegiate playing career consisted of 2 seasons at Citrus College and another year at Cal Poly Pomona before he joined the Marine Corps for a 2-year stint. He returned to football in 1965, playing center and linebacker on Azusa Pacific’s first-ever football team.

 

Damewood was an All-Pacific League honoree as a lineman and linebacker at Monrovia High, from which he graduated in 1958. During Damewood’s 3-year varsity career, the Wildcats won 22 of 27 games.

 

In 1974 he returned to Citrus as an assistant for local legendary coach John Strycula, eventually serving as the Owls’ defensive coordinator for several years.

 

A resident of Glendora, Calif., Damewood was the longtime director of the very popular sports ministries at Grace Church of Glendora, where he regularly attended services.

 

Damewood is survived by his wife of nearly 33 years, Barbara, 3 step-children, Leslie Kazmar and Donald and Steven Dunn, 8 grandchildren, 5 sisters and 2 brothers.