Vote: Who should be SBLive’s California High School Football Coach of the Week (9/27/2023)?
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s California High School Coach of the Week for Sept. 21-23 as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff. Read through the nominees and cast your vote below. Voting will conclude on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 11:59 p.m and the winner will be announced on Monday. If you would like to nominate a coach in future weeks, please email Lance@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveCA.
Matt Bechtel, Damien: The Spartans started 6-0 for the first time since 1999 with a 35-21 win over La Serna. Isaiah Arriaza threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns for Damien, which is in its fifth year under Bechtel.
Tee Hendrix, Oakland: The first-year Oakland coach led the Wildcats to their fourth straight win to start the season, a 14-0 win over Washington-San Francisco. Losers of 21 straight games over four seasons heading into the year, the Wildcats have outscored opponents 112-8 in the four victories, despite having only 19 players on the roster. Hendrix has a history of turning around programs, last lifting Fremont-Oakland to prominence from 2012 to 2017.
Rick Rubio and Ray Vandiver, Brawley: After longtime head coach Jon Self retired in December, Brawley opted to make a double-hire from within, naming Ray Vandiver and Rick Rubio as co-head coaches. In year one, the Wildcats are 5-0 following a 47-15 win against Gila Ridge (AZ), led in part by three passing touchdowns and a touchdown run from Matthew Gutierrez.
Richard Sanchez, Cardinal Newman: Sanchez, the second-year Cardinal Newman coach, lifted his team to their fifth straight win without a loss, 34-0 over St. Mary's-Berkeley, a team that went 11-1 in 2022. Newman has now outscored opponents 177-54 on the season. A San Diego native, Sanchez worked at San Diego State, University of San Diego, Valparaiso and Sacramento State as well as San Diego, St. Augustine and Montclair high schools.
Ryan Huisenga, Moorpark: After reaching 4-0 for the first time under Huisenga in its previous game, Moorpark moved to 5-0 by opening Canyon League play with a 42-6 rout of Oak Park. Luke Cochran led the Musketeers' offense with three touchdown runs.
Justin Alumbaugh, De La Salle: De La Salle's 11th year coach went old school and rushed 61 times for 308 yards while controlling the ball 31 minutes, 52 seconds to 18:08 for Folsom in a 14-7 road win in a battle of Northern California powers. Alumbaugh has righted the ship with three straight wins, two over state-ranked opponents, after De La Salle started the season 0-2.
Monty Gilbreath, Gardena: Following a 2-0 in his first season at the helm and a 5-0 start in 2022, the Panthers are 6-0 in Gilbreath's third year as head coach. Xavier Grant turned 10 carries into 172 yards and two touchdowns as Gardena held off upset-minded King/Drew 14-12.
Darren Bennett, Tulare Union: Bennett, the longtime coach at Tulare Union, led The Tribe to a 42-12 win over previously unbeaten Kingsburg behind sophomore quarterback Jordan Crisp (19 of 23, 331 yards, two touchdowns). Bennett's teams won a combined 56-10 from 2015 to 2020 before going 5-5 and 4-7 the last two seasons. Despite a very young squad, Bennett has The Tribe back on the winning path.
Tony Franks, St. Mary's-Stockton: The 25-year coach at St. Mary's didn't let the Rams pout following a 24-10 loss to De La Salle-Concord on Sept. 14. St. Mary's made the most of a Southern California trip to Bishop Amat while coming away with a 41-31 road victory. The Rams never trailed in the contest in a game of first-time combatants.
Steve Medina, Legacy: Legacy, which is in its 11th year of football, tied the program's single-season wins record with six wins in a 22-14 victory over crosstown rival South Gate. And the Tigers haven't lost a game yet. Junior linebacker Nathan Uribe led Legacy's defense with 17 tackles and a forced fumble.
Kevin Macy, Campolindo: Macy, the 44-year coach, the last 28 as head coach at Campolindo-Moraga, led the Cougars to a rather shocking 38-14 win at Monte Vista-Danville, the Northern California Coast's No. 20 team heading into last week. Luke Bonardi was everywhere on defense with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. "This came out of nowhere," Macy told the Bay Area News Group. "They played incredibly. I don't know where this came from."
George Wilson, Murrieta Valley: The tenth-year head coach guided Murrieta Valley to a 39-38 upset at San Clemente, where the Nighthawks themselves were upset by one point two years ago. Down 38-37 with 91 seconds left, Murrieta Valley went for the two-point conversion and succeeded on a Bear Bachmeier run.
Michael Christensen, Carson: After a strong four-year run at Carson in 2006-09, Christensen is back with the Colts and has them at 6-0 after a 64-0 demolition of Torres. Carson has not been 6-0 since before Christensen's initial tenure there. Jerry Misaalefua ran for two touchdowns and registered an interception-return touchdown in the Torres victory.
Dan Urbanos, Kennedy (La Palma): The fourth-year head coach has Kennedy on the verge of one of the strongest seasons in recent program history. The Fighting Irish moved to 5-0 with a 41-0 drubbing of Katella, and have outscored opponents 200-49.
