Corona del Mar head coach Scott Meyer is third from the right on the bottom row of team photo taken after CIF Division III state bowl game. His team takes 26-game win streak into next season. Photo: Scott Kurtz.
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Congratulations to the following two California coaches for joining Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year Ed Croson of Chaminade as additional honorees for accomplishments by their teams during the 2013 football season.
Medium Schools State Coach of the Year
Scott Meyer (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach)
For the first time in state history, a team finished 16-0 and it was Scott Meyer’s Sea Kings that made that history after they defeated Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton 27-15 in the CIF Division III state championship bowl game.
Since taking over in March of 2011, he has led Corona del Mar to a record of 40-4 while winning three straight section titles and two straight league titles. They will enter next season with a 26-game winning streak (longest in California) and he has also already been named by the Orange County Register as its Coach of the Year.
Before coming to Corona del Mar, Meyer was a defensive coordinator at Wilson of Long Beach and before that he spent six years as a head coach at Jordan of Long Beach. The section championship won in 2011 was the program’s first section title since 1989.
The last Orange County coach to be chosen as Medium Schools State Coach of the Year was Ray Fenton of Cypress (10-3) in 2007. The last one before that was Joe Wood from Aliso Niguel of Aliso Viejo (14-0) in 1996.
Recent Cal-Hi Sports Medium Schools
State Coaches of the Year
2012 – Rick Jackson (Madison, San Diego); 2011 – Rick Prinz (Paradise); 2010 – Paul Cronin (Cardinal Newman, Santa Rosa); 2009 – Sean Doyle (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego); 2008 – Lou Farrar (Charter Oak, Covina); 2007 – Ray Fenton (Cypress); 2006 – Eric Reis (Manteca); 2005 – Robin Luken (Lompoc); 2004 – Rob Gilster (Valley Center); 2003 – Tony Martello (Colfax); 2002 – Tom St. Jacques (Lassen, Susanville); 2001 – Butch Cattolico (Los Gatos); 2000 – Dennis Pugh (Mission Bay, San Diego).
Small Schools State Coach of the Year
Matt Oliver (Christian, El Cajon)
Oliver has had many great seasons in charge of the Patriots but his 15th might have been the best as he led the team to a CIF San Diego Section Division III championship despite many distractions and facing larger schools.
With a pending court case looming to decide if the Patriots should be allowed to play in a smaller CIF state bowl game division, they took care of business and defeated a San Marcos squad that was in the largest class the year before by a 19-7 score in the section finals.
With an enrollment of 380, the 12-1 Patriots, who had to face schools with enrollments of over 2,000 to win a section championship, were hoping to be allowed to be in a lower division for the state bowl games but because of state rules they had to be considered for Division II (same as Chaminade of West Hills) and were not selected.
It’s not the first section title for Oliver, either. Christian won its previous section crown in 2011 with a win over Santa Fe Christian of Solana Beach. In his 15 seasons, he also has a record of 117-55-2.
The last coach from a current CIF San Diego Section school to be chosen as Small Schools Coach of the Year was Bill Wilson of Holtville (12-0) in 1968. The only other San Diego coach on the all-time list for small schools is Glenn Forsythe of Ramona (12-0) for 1958.
Recent Cal-Hi Sports Small Schools
State Coaches of the Year
2012 – Pete Lavorato (Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton); 2011 – Jon Ellinghouse (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth); 2010 – Mark Louriero (Escalon); 2009 – Jack Moyer (Fort Bragg); 2008 – Frank Marques (Hilmar); 2007 – Kim Jorgensen (Ferndale); 2006 – Travis Brackett (Novato); 2005 – Matt Hunsaker (Central Valley, Shasta Lake); 2004 – Rich Cotruvo (Justin-Siena, Napa); 2003 – Mike Glines (Central Catholic, Modesto); 2002 – Coley Candaele (Carpinteria); 2001 – Dan Finfrock (Arrowhead Christian, Redlands); 2000 – Mike Sparks (Dos Palos).
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @CalHiSports
