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The last two years have been storybook for Hesperia, at least as storybook as it's gotten for the Scorpions. With a combined 20-3 record the last two seasons, the second season seeing Hesperia win the Mojave River League championship, life has been good for the Scorpions.

But the 2009 season sees a Scorpions program in a bit of transition. Gone is head coach Robert Kistner, who left for Oak Hills along with former athletic director Darren Goodman. Gone are also 16 starters, especially much of the defense, from last year's league champions. Hesperia will also have to deal with a bit of a talent drain, as Oak Hills will siphon much of the talent that has allowed for the Scorpions' success.

Hesperia High School will hire Jeremy Topete as its next head football coach, pending school board approval at the upcoming meeting on May 18.

Topete, 36, served two stints as an assistant coach for the Scorpions, most recently as a wide receivers coach this past season. He was also an assistant for the Scorpions in 2005.

"I'm excited," said Topete, a University of La Verne graduate said. "We have a good thing going here at Hesperia and I'm looking to keep it going and build on what we have. We just had our first spring practice (Monday) and I'm just ready to get started."

Topete replaces Robert Kistner, the 2007 All-Sun Coach of the Year, who left to take the head job at brand-new Oak Hills High School. The Scorpions compiled a 21-3 record over the last two seasons under Kistner, including a school-record 11 victories and a Mojave River League title this past season.

"We have a lot of seniors out there who are hungry to keep the MRL title and win "The Key" for a third straight year," Topete said. "Everyone in the program has high expectations and we feel we have the parts in place to do those things."

Prior to his stints at Hesperia, Topete served as an assistant at San Dimas High School and Chaffey College. He was a quarterback coach at San Dimas from 1998-2000 before spending a four-year stint at Chaffey -- one as a QB coach and three as a running backs coach.

After spending a year at Hesperia, Topete went back to Chaffey as the offensive coordinator in 2006-07, a move he said was important in preparing him for a job like Hesperia's.

"It was a great opportunity I couldn't pass up," Topete said of the Chaffey offensive coordinator job. "It really helped me become a better coach and a better teacher. Our main goal is to not only teach kids plays and techniques, but why we run them a specific way."

Topete said that the Scorpions will be running a lot of the single-back formations that they did under Kistner while looking to free up senior wide receiver Jay Waddell -- an all-Sun second-team selection a year ago.

Had a brief conversation with Jeremy Topete, who confirmed to me that he will be the next head football coach at Hesperia High School pending approval by the Hesperia Unified School District. According to a quick Google search, Topete has been an assistant at Chaffey College.

We'll have more later.