"(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) With two weeks left in the regular season for high school football, it's become clear there's a large and growing list of candidates for coach of the year. They are considered based on exceeding expectations, winning championships or helping to engineer a program turnaround when no one saw it coming. Let's review the great coaching performances so far this season:"
"The season will be based on whether they can break through and disrupt the St. John Bosco-Mater Dei domination. Their defense is clearly the best in Southern California. Dylen Smith, Palisades: He lost his field, lost his weight room and nearly lost his team to the Palisades fire. And yet, the Dolphins have persevered and are 8-0 with players who stayed and a couple new ones who wanted to experience an adventure with no guarantee of success."
"Ray Fenton, Los Alamitos: The man looks so fit he could run around any stadium without breaking a sweat. Few expected the Griffins to be 8-0 at this point, let alone be in the running for a Southern Section Division 1 playoff berth. He's molded a team of best friends into believing in themselves no matter the opponent. San Clemente and Mission Viejo are the only teams standing in the way of a 10-0 regular season."
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, numerous high school football coaches have emerged as top candidates for coach of the year because of unexpected success, championships, or program turnarounds. Ray Fenton has Los Alamitos at 8-0 and poised for a possible 10-0 finish. Brad Vonnahme rebuilt Crespi into an 8-0 team by developing players from freshman classes rather than bringing in transfers. Sierra Canyon under Jon Ellinghouse is 8-0 with a dominant defense aiming to challenge traditional powers. Dylen Smith guided Palisades to 8-0 despite losing facilities to fire. Chad Johnson scheduled a strong nonleague slate and has Mission Viejo at 7-1.
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