Vote now: Who should be SBLive’s California High School Football Coach of the Week (Sep. 29-Oct. 1)?
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s California High School Coach of the Week for Sep. 29-Oct. 1 as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff. Read through the nominees and cast your vote below. Voting will conclude on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 11:59 p.m and the winner will be announced Monday, Oct. 10th. If you would like to nominate a coach, please email connor@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveCA.
Last week's winner: Drew Westling, Mt. Carmel
THIS WEEK’S CALIFORNIA COACH OF THE WEEK NOMINEES:
Eric Brown, Clovis West: The Golden Eagles fought from behind in the final minute to beat the Central Section’s No. 1 ranked and California No. 24 Buchanan-Clovis 29-22. Clovis West (6-0) is now the No. 1 team in the Central Section. Buchanan took a 22-21 lead with 53 seconds left, but Clovis West zipped right down field, capped by a 45-yard TD from Ryan Markarian to Marshel Sanders with 35 seconds left for the game winner.
Ron Burner, El Capitan: El Capitan won 7-0 at Santana last week to give Burner his 100th career coaching win at the school.
Narciso Diaz, Franklin: Diaz's high powered Franklin offense outscored Northern League rival Eagle Rock 23-6 in the second half of the Panthers' 30-13 win. Last Friday's victory was the team's second against Eagle Rock in the last six years. The win most likely means that the Panthers will qualify for the Open Division playoffs in the City Section for the first time in school history.
David Dunn, Lincoln-San Diego: Dunn led Lincoln to a 31-17 rivalry win over Cathedral Catholic. Roderick Robinson rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Lincoln will win a lot of games with their dominant run game this season.
Keith Ellison, Redondo Union: In his first season in charge, Ellison has Redondo Union rolling. The Sea Hawks went 2-8 a year ago, but are 6-0 this season following last week's 28-21 win over Peninsula.
Phil Ferrigno, Lincoln-San Francisco: In a battle of the previous three state champions from the San Francisco Section, Ferrigno’s Mustangs defeated Balboa 21-7 without their top player, senior running back and safety Ricky Underwood (out with a broken collarbone). The Mustangs recorded six sacks, two interceptions and held Balboa scoreless until the fourth quarter.
Vic Galli, Pittsburg: In his 22nd season, Galli largely scrapped the team’s high-powered passing attack and went to the ground in a 39-21 win over four-time state champion McClymonds-Oakland. The Pirates rushed sophomore Elijah Bow 33 times for 185 yards and a touchdown to take the pressure of 5-star QB Jadsen Rashada who still managed to throw for 227 yards and three TDs.
Raymond Grajeda, Banning: Banning overcame the loss of a suspended player to take down Marine League rival Carson 40-14 last week. A few Pilots players threatened to sit out the game in solidarity with the suspended player, but in the end Grajeda motivated his team to take the field and they ended up winning big.
Keith Holden, Half Moon Bay: The Cougars improved to 5-0 with a 22-21 home win over Menlo-Atherton, which was missing Oregon-bound receiver Jurrion Dickey due to injury. Still, the visiting Bears have loads of Division I college talent, including Soane Faasolo, a 6-foot-9, 300-pound guard and defensive tackle committed to Washington. Half Moon Bay, without a recruiting star on its roster, used a fourth-quarter touchdown to take a 22-21 lead, then a goal-line stand in the final minute to record the unlikely win. “It kind of validates what we’re all about,” Half Moon Bay coach Keith Holden told the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s not perfect and sometimes it’s ugly, but we’re scrappy and we’re going to play hard. It validates our blue-collar work ethic.”
Matt Mitchell, El Modena: For the first time in 15 years, El Modena took down Villa Park 28-13 last week. “Our defense played well tonight,” Mitchell told the OC Register postgame. “They’ve been playing hard and together as a group. We keep preaching ‘get to the ball and play as a team’ and that’s what we did tonight.”
CAST YOUR VOTE
Editor’s Note: Our Coach of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
