OC high school football coaches prepare teams for major league changes this season

Western’s football team takes the field for a game last season. (Photo: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

Orange County high school football coaches are preparing their squads for the major CIF re-alignment which takes place this fall for most teams. The Trinity League is not affected.

Coaches were asked their thoughts by OC Sports Zone as part of summer high school previews:

Dan Davidson, Western: The Pioneers move into the Delta League, the third highest-ranked league. Other teams in the league are Cypress, Capistrano Valley, Trabuco Hills, Tustin and El Modena. 

“We are looking forward to the season ahead of us and moving into the new Delta League,” Davidson said. “Going to be very exciting to have so many wonderful competitive games ahead of us. Our players and coaches are excited to compete in such a highly competitive league.”

Rick Curtis, Crean Lutheran: The Saints move from the Empire League into the Epsilon League with La Habra, Huntington Beach, Laguna Hills, Foothill and El Dorado.

“The Epsilon League will be a big challenge for the Saints as every team in the league advanced to the CIF playoffs in 2023,” said Curtis. “Each team have solid football programs and outstanding coaching staffs.”

Joseph Tagaloa, Segerstrom: The Jaguars move from the Big Four League into the Kappa League with St. Margaret’s, Segerstrom, Westminster, Brea Olinda, Esperanza and Garden Grove.

 “We have never played Esperanza or Brea Olinda, so it’s going to be exciting to get out there and compete with those two programs,” Tagaloa said. “The last time we played St. Margaret’s we lost in a CIF playoff game, so it is going to be fun to be able to get another chance to compete.

“The other two programs, Westminster and Garden Grove, are no doubt going to be very competitive. When Segerstrom first opened up, Westminster was the team we battled for league supremacy every year. We can say the same thing about Garden Grove, once we entered the Big 4. Our two programs battled for a league title every year. With such a competitive league, it is important that our preseason schedule be challenging, which we get through all of our preseason opponents.”

Tom Ricci, Irvine: The Vaqueros move from the Pacific Hills League into the Iota League with El Toro, Canyon, Troy, Sonora and Santa Ana.

“I feel like our league is going to be extremely competitive,” said Ricci said. “We’ve played most of these teams previously and our games are always close. There are a lot of fantastic coaches in Iota, so I know they will have their teams coached up and ready to play. We are excited for the challenge.

Doug Case, Foothill: The Knights move from the Crestview League into the Epsilon League with Crean Lutheran, Laguna Hills, Huntington Beach, El Dorado and La Habra.

“The new league is very competitive,” Case said. “Played them all at some point over the years. All teams are great programs ran by great coaches.”

Aron Kaye, Godinez: The Grizzles move from the Pac-4 League into the Zeta League.

“We have seen Saddleback, Savanna and Century this summer and they are all improved. I would imagine Magnolia will be as well.  Every week will be a major test that will have a big impact on the league outcome,” Kaye said. “There are no gimme’s and it will be a lot of fun.”

Daniel Hernandez, Ocean View: The Seahawks move from the Pac-4 League into the Sigma League with Estancia, Rancho Alamitos, Santa Ana Valley, Calvary Chapel and Los Amigos.

“With the new leagues I really like where we were placed,” Hernandez said. “The league is very competitive and I think everyone has a chance to win it. We as a program are looking forward to the upcoming season. This off-season we focused on lifting and getting stronger and I am pleased with where we are.” 

JC Clarke, Northwood: The Timberwolves move from the Pacific Coast League into the Foxtrot League with Laguna Beach, Orange, Fountain Valley, Aliso Niguel and Dana Hills.

“Not happy about the new league, nothing wrong with the other teams, just think high school football is best when playing traditional rivals and there is a perfect six team Irvine league if you include Beckman, which happens to be our the closest high school to Northwood,” Clarke said.

Rick Feldman, Cypress: The Centurions move from the Empire League into the Delta League with Western, Capistrano Valley, Trabuco Hills, Tustin and El Modena. 

“The new league will be challenging this year,” Feldman said. “The teams are all well coached and are loaded with players. We are hopeful that our youthful team will gain the experience we need in the preseason to compete at the level needed in the Delta League.

Aaron Craver, Woodbridge: The Warriors move from the Pacific Hills League into the Omicron League with Pacifica, University, Portola, Buena Park and Katella.

“I am excited to see what our new league brings to the table,” Craver said. “We will still be playing familiar faces in our league and our traditional rivals that changed leagues, we will play them in the preseason.”

Mike Zangl, Tesoro: The Titans move from the South Coast League into the Bravo League with Villa Park, Yorba Linda, Corona del Mar, San Juan Hills and Newport Harbor.

“We are excited to start a new chapter of Tesoro football in the new Bravo League,” Zangl said. “We have tremendous respect for all the teams that make up our league. Great coaches, players, and academics for all the schools. We feel it is a great fit and we look forward to the grind each week.”

Lance Neal, Century: The Centurions move from the Orange League into the Zeta League with Godinez, Savanna, Saddleback and Magnolia.

“We are looking forward to a fresh start in a new league,” Neal said. “We hope to make a run for a playoff spot.”

Luis Cruz, Santa Ana: The Saints move from the Orange Coast League into the Iota League with El Toro, Canyon, Troy, Sonora and Irvine.

“It’s going to be an extremely competitive league,” Cruz said. “The last several years we’ve kind of been the top two teams in our league. Every team is going to be very talented and it’s going to be the toughest league Santa Ana has ever been in, in the history of the school. I think the players are excited for the opportunity to play up and to really compete at a high level.”

Charlie TeGantvoort, Marina: The Vikings move from the Big Four League into the Lambda League.

“The league will have some good long-time coaches such as Coach (Jason) Gray over at Valencia High School, so we know we will have to be ready to play teams that are well coached and disciplined,” TeGantvoort said.  “We are excited to compete and push towards winning another league championship and set ourselves up to head into CIF playoffs to compete for a CIF championship as well.”

Alfredo Macias, Santa Ana Valley: The Falcons move from the Orange League into the Sigma League with Calvary Chapel, Ocean View, Rancho Alamitos, Los Amigos and Estancia.

“All teams in the league are led by excellent coaching staffs, and the league title should come down to the final week of the season,” Macias said. “Our non-league schedule is designed to challenge us against teams several divisions above us in hopes it will lead us to make a run at the league title. However, our ultimate end goal is to make the playoffs and compete for a CIF title. We have been fortunate to have back-to-back playoff appearances and look to make it three in a row.”

Marcello Giuliano, Beckman: The Patriots move from the Pacific Hills League into the Lambda League with Fullerton, Marina, Sunny Hills, Valencia and Kennedy.

“It’s a big change moving away from our traditional city rivalries in the old Pacific Coast League, but we are looking forward to competing against this set of teams with different playing styles and terrific staffs. We have changed up our pre-league schedule too to help get us ready for this level of competition.”

Rob Thompson, Saddleback: The Roadrunners move from the Orange Coast League into the Zeta League with Godinez, Savanna, Magnolia and Century.

“It should be very competitive, which makes it fun to prepare for each week’s opponent,” Thompson said. 

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—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com