Chino High School didn’t have to look far for its new head football coach. Matt McCain, who will retain his athletic director position at Chino, will be the fourth head coach of the Cowboys in the last six years, pending board approval that can come no earlier than Feb. 18.

The Chino graduate will replace the departed Greg Setlich, who went 2-18 in his two seasons at the helm following a two-year stint by Manny Saiz that netted seven wins.

“We’ve been through some challenging times recently, but there’s a rich history,” McCain said. “I think we can get it back on track. I think a lot of our kids at Chino. Chino High School is a great place to work and coach. Expectations are high.”

McCain has been a large part of that rich history, playing for and coaching under John Monger during the legendary coach’s 19-year tenure at the school.
Continue reading “Chino chooses football coach familiar with the program” »

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Webb High School football coach Robbie von Pertz is resigning his position due to medical concerns a season after leading Webb to its first playoff appearance since the program returned to 11-man football in 1998.

“The kids were devastated to hear the news of his departure, and while of course sorry to have to accept Coach von Pertz’s resignation, we understand the reasons for it and wish him the best of luck going forward,” Webb athletic director Stephen Wishek said in an e-mail. “He has built a solid foundation for the next coach to build upon.”

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Pomona High School football coach John Brown resigned Jan. 8 on the premise that the school offered his job to Colony fourth-year head coach Anthony Rice soon after Brown’s first and only season head coach. Rice said that in a conversation about two months ago with Pomona athletic director Tom Sweeney, Rice’s friend and former colleague, Sweeney floated the idea of Rice joining Pomona’s coaching staff as the offensive coordinator under Brown.

“I was never offered (Brown’s) job,” Rice said Tuesday. “Tom (Sweeney) was talking to me about being the offensive coordinator and I just laughed it off. It was kind of a joke… I’m already a head coach, so why would I go be an offensive coordinator? He was kind of serious about it but I just laughed it off.”
Continue reading “Pomona floated Colony’s Rice OC job under Brown” »

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The Chino Valley Unified School District and Ayala High School girls basketball coach Mel Sims have confirmed that assistant coach Nick Masi resigned for “personal reasons.” Neither Sims nor the district would give details as to the “personal reasons.” Masi was in his second season as Sims’ assistant and served as a substitute teacher in the district. Off-campus junior varsity coach Leonard Guinn will serve double duty as JV coach and varsity assistant. “You can’t find another coach and get board approved this late in the season,” Sims said.

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Former Pomona High School football coach John Brown’s statement that the Pomona administration contacted other coaches about replacing him as early as the middle of his first and only season as the head coach was not substantiated by those he said were contacted.

Brown said Colony head football coach Anthony Rice was offered his job after the season and Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton was contacted about his job in the middle of the season. When reached Friday, both Rice and Layton said they weren’t contacted about or offered the head football coaching job by Pomona High School.

Both Layton and Rice, who graduated from Pomona Unified School District’s Ganesha High and Garey High, respectively, acknowledged knowing many in and around Pomona’s football program. Layton was an assistant coach on the 1996 Pomona staff with Brown.

“I never got a phone call from anybody at Pomona and I’ve never been offered a job at Pomona,” Layton said. “I’m sure if my name pops up – I’m a product of Pomona Unified, I coached there for a year and I’d like to think I’ve had some success recently – it’s because my name pops up in a lot of places.”

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Chino High School football coach Greg Setlich resigned Wednesday faced with principal Adam Bailey’s decision “to go in a different direction.” The Chino graduate who greatly improved the Don Lugo program in his previous stop, won his first two games at Chino last season but lost 18 straight before resigning.

“I knew going in it was a struggling situation, but I never envisioned going 0-18,” Setlich told the Daily Bulletin’s Louis Brewster. “Chino has little tolerance for losing and rightfully so. There were a lot of reasons for the lack of on-field success. It was an honor and a privilege to coach at two great schools in the district.”

In his 29-year coaching career, Setlich also was head coach at Pico Rivera El Rancho and San Dimas. He left San Dimas after one season to return to Chino as an assistant to John Monger and to work with his late father Pete, also a one-time Chino head coach. That season resulted in a CIF-SS championship for the Cowboys.

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

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A year after he ended his 10-season tenure at Hacienda Heights Los Altos High School, Greg Gano was hired as the Damien High School head football coach on Tuesday.
The replacement for Scott Morrison, who compiled a 32-33-1 record at Damien, won four CIF-SS championships in 10 years at Los Altos. Morrison, who won two Sierra League titles in six years, was fired after a 3-7 season this year.

The last time he accepted a head coaching job, Gano replaced Dwayne DeSpain, who won seven CIF titles at Los Altos.

“When I took over for Dwayne they said `You’re nuts,”‘ Gano said. “If I can follow a legend, the coach of the century, there’s not much more pressure than that.

“I know what we have to do here and we’ve got a solid foundation.”
Continue reading “Damien hires Gano as football coach” »

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A week removed from a 3-7 season, Scott Morrison was fired as head football coach of Damien High School on Friday. Morrison, a Damien graduate, guided his teams to two Sierra League championships and four playoff appearances in six seasons. Given those accomplishments, Morrison was surprised to be relieved of his duties.

“The administration stepped in because we didn’t have a successful enough season,” Morrison said. “It’s a tough place. You gotta win, and we didn’t win this year. We went to the playoffs three years in a row and won two league championships, but apparently that doesn’t earn you any wiggle room.”
Continue reading “Damien fires football coach” »

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Chino High School head football coach Manny Saiz stepped down on Thursday, two games from completing his second season at the school.
Saiz, reached by phone Thursday night, said the move was for personal reasons.
“I’ve just got some personal things to figure out right now,” Saiz said.
Assistant coach Matt Montello, who will take over on an interim basis, said the move centered on a disagreement.
Continue reading “Chino football coach steps down” »

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