Recently in Daniel Polmounter Category

Things have been busy at Sultana High School lately, as the school recently hired longtime assistant coach Blake Robbins as head football coach to replace Zane Sweeney while seeing two-time defending CIF champion girls soccer coach Daniel Polmounter step down.

Robbins has most recently served as a defensive coordinator for the Sultans, who have a 21-game losing streak dating back to 2007. Robbins has seen success at Sultana, as he was an assistant on the 2005 Mojave River League championship team. He was hired three weeks ago according to a conversation we had yesterday.

Polmounter, fresh off a second-straight CIF-SS Division 4 title, stepped down to spend more time with his wife Stephanie and two children, 2-year old Bryant and 2-month old Camryn. Along with serving as an assistant coach on the football team and a baseball umpire, it got to be too much for the former Eisenhower kicker.

"I love coaching soccer and coaching these girls, but it didn't leave time for my family," Polmounter said. "I didn't see how I could continue coaching and still be there as a husband and father. It got to be too much."

Sultana made the clean sweep in Division 4, grabbing the Offensive Player of the Year (Brianna Gonzalez), Defensive Player of the Year (Mayra Diaz) and Coach of the Year (Danny Polmounter) honors. It's good to be the two-time defending division champs.

Sultana left no doubt tonight, as Brianna Gonzalez scored twice and Britney Roberts had a goal and an assist for the victorious Sultans, who felt like this year's victory redeemed the close, penalty-kick nature of last year's triumph against Granite Hills.

"This was a lot less nerve-wracking," Sultana coach Daniel Polmounter said. "We proved a point tonight. All we've been hearing is how Granite is going to run the score up on us. We just played hard the entire time."

Granite Hills had its chances at times and was only outshot 11-9, but the Cougars fell in the title game for the third straight year. In four title-game appearances since 2006, all Granite Hills has to show for it is a split title in 2006 back when the CIF awarded two titles in the event of regulation ties.

Cougars coach Mike Bradbury didn't want to talk, instead asking Daily Press reporter Matthew Peters and I to direct the story toward Sultana. That story will be available in a couple hours online and in the paper tomorrow.