By Tim Peterson
La Serna is the class of the Del Rio League. Let’s not kid ourselves. The Lancers are the team to beat. The team that, at least for right now, every other team in the league aspires to be.
La Serna has been the cream of the Del Rio for years and when you look at the landscape of High School football right now the Lancers will be on the pedestal for several years to come. But all is not lost for the rest of the league.
If you’re in the Del Rio, all you have to do is win a couple of league games, finish second or third, get into the playoffs and make a run. See Santa Fe last year. The Chiefs, after years of futility, went 3-1 in league and advanced all the way to the CIF Semi-Finals. You don’t have to worry about La Serna anymore in the post season. Ok they beat you 42-7. Fine, cool, have a nice day. You won’t have to see them again once the league game is over.
You’re not going to be in the same playoff division as La Serna. The Lancers were in Division 4 last year. Santa Fe? 12. But now Santa Fe is relevant again. Winning games does that. Making a Semi-Final run does that. That kid that maybe didn’t want to play football at Santa Fe before will now be at Spring practice. The fans that used to stay home and watch Netflix on Friday night will now get out to see the Chiefs play. Ryan Bateman and his coaching staff has made Santa Fe relevant. Good coaches do that.
Whittier had that chance. The chance to win some games, to make a playoff run, to be…well…relevant. Because a quick check of the record books will tell you that when it comes to wins and losses the Cardinal program has been irrelevant for the better part of the last 20 years.
The Cardinals have had only three winning seasons in 23 years. They’ve never won a playoff game during that span and have had only three playoff appearances. They lost in the first round in 2006, 2015 and 2017. Santa Fe won more playoff games last year than Whittier has won in 23 years.
Whittier had the opportunity to change all of that last week and they dropped the ball…in the endzone…with the game on the line. They hit the front of the rim on a slam dunk, swung and missed with the bases loaded.
They had a chance to hire a coach who has been successful everywhere he has been. This coach took one team to a CIF Championship game and won a CIF Championship with another. And after his team won the CIF Championship they went on to win a State championship the same year.
The guy has coached two running backs who went on to play in the NFL. Another is currently playing at the Division 1 level. His offense has produced four 2000-yard rushers and 12 that have rushed for over 1000 yards on the season.
When it was rumored that he had interviewed at Whittier and wanted the job it looked like a done deal. Slam dunk right? I even had people texting me telling me it was set in stone. Wrong! He was told last Friday he wouldn’t be hired.
Whittier seemed to be at a point that they wanted to turn things around as well. The Cardinals let head coach Todd Quinsey go after just one year- a season in which the Cardinals went 2-8. Quinsey is an experienced coach that figured to get at least 3 or 4 years to right the ship but no, he was out. Whittier wanted to change things now. Or so we thought.
Then they have their guy in their sights. Here he is…a guy that not only wins but that actually wants the job. And they let it slip away. So what went wrong? A teaching job? Different philosophies? Scheduling conflicts? Well, he was never even offered a teaching job so it wasn’t that. But it doesn’t matter what it was. It should have been worked out.
The question from the powers that be at Whittier to the coach shouldn’t have been “What can you do for us?” It should have been “What can we do for you? What will it take to get to you to become the head football coach at Whittier?”
Why wouldn’t you take a few small steps to clear a hurdle and get the program on the right track?
Three winning seasons and no playoff wins in 23 years? Well that’s only as far as the records go back on the website that was referenced. It could be longer. 25 years? 30? But the better question is how much longer will it be before Whittier is relevant?
Whittier had their man and let him walk. So now it starts all over and the search for a coach continues. And unfortunately for the Cardinal faithful so does mediocrity.
That’s my principle.
Tim Peterson can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com. or on Twitter @tspeterson40. Facebook- Tim Peterson.
Currently….
State Champion LS Football
27 game DRL winning streak
LS Basketball
34 game DRL winning streak
LS Baseball
19 game DRL winning streak
LS Water Polo
43 game DRL winning streak
Looks like La Serna
is the only team playing athletics in the district…..lol 😂
Combined that’s what a 123 game DRL winning streak.
#LS Domination
#ThankUFantasticDistrict
#1: Don’t fumble. Protect the ball at all costs. RB’s must get strong so they can hang on to the ball. # 2: Avoid 5 yard procedure penalties.and offsides. That means keep it basic. No huddle and fancy formations and movement are fine with teams loaded with experienced players but other than that keep it simple stupid. You do that you win half your games in a weak league like the Almont.
@ A-Town: To be frank, I believe we need to run the ball better; injuries really set us back in that department last season. A successful ground attack should create more openings for our passing.
Coming off a 1-9 season, we need to work on all aspects of the game, including defense and special teams as well. I think we’ll have to balance all of those considerations, and it’s going to take a lot of hard work.
I wish our coaching staff and players the best of luck.
Shale sharpens shale
@ron that’s been my issue with the football program seems like we running it like it’s the 1980’s part time it’s 2024 football is full time year around now. Even keppel out there in the passing Circuit, and coach Eric just did two tournaments come on go down to arroyo at last once a month or Franklin high school or La Wilson and throw the ball around practice against other teams iron sharpens iron
@ A-Town: I don’t know, but I’ll ask Coach Mackintosh the next time I see him. Running spring football practice and coaching baseball at the same time would be a very heavy workload for anyone.
Coach Mac still coaching baseball?
@ A-Town: Of course, the 7-on-7 tournaments are opportunities for teams to work on their passing attacks; we’ll see what approach Coach Mackintosh will take this year. He ought to have a pretty good idea by now, having served as Alhambra’s offensive coordinator for the last five years.
We don’t lift weights at 6 a.m. anymore, but we frequently do it during Period 6 Football Theory class, which meets in midafternoon. (Many but not all of the players are on that attendance roster.) Then we have football practice after school, as always, when practices are permitted.
What is the update for Ganesha seems like they hunting for a big time coach to take advantage of the online high school system they got
@peterson what’s up with Ganesha have they found there 7on7 coach 🤣🤣🫣
@ron we need to get out on the passing circuit am not a big fan of 7on7 but I like the competition aspect of it. I haven’t been around the program day to day but back in the day with coach Gil we had 6am weight, afternoon practice seems like it ain’t like that anymore
Why run interviews? who’s running the interviews? The admin have let Alhambra go from top program to terrible. Brand new a.d also. The only one who could have a good opinion about it is Eric Bergstrom, and Eric would have picked mac. Interviews are only as good as the people running them. Keith Jones is the one who brought Encinas to San Gabriel. Unless you get rudeflores on the panel, admin would have probably picked a walk on who doesn’t even care about Alhambra. At least it’s clear that mac loves Alhambra based on his loyalty. That is probably more important than anything.
@ Moor for Life: What are YOU talking about? The same goes for the “Anonymous” whose post appears just before yours. I completely understand what a tremendous logistical undertaking running a high school football program is.
I don’t just do stats. As a substitute teacher, I’ve filled in for Coach Bergstrom on multiple occasions and supervised his football theory students in the weight room. I’ve helped carry gear before and after some of our road games, and I’ve also participated in about two hundred postgame discussions about what transpired on the field of play.
When I said, “hit the ground running five months from now,” I meant being fully ready to play by our opening game. I’ve known for years that the work in the weight room and on the track, and learning the plays, is virtually a year-round endeavor.
As for summer passing leagues, Alhambra participates in “The Rumble at the Ranch” every year, and we’ve sometimes been known to enter one additional tournament. But no, passing leagues haven’t been the top priority for us.
It’s quite possible that Coach Mackintosh will serve as head coach for a short-term period, whether that’s a year, two years, or three years. Or, he could surprise everyone by staying in the job for a lot longer.
I strongly believe that however long Mack stays on as head coach, he will put his best effort into it every day. And, many of us who’ve been closely associated with the Alhambra football program for years will be there to help him.
I don’t understand the comment by Anonymous that a head coaching hire which has just been made has already damaged the program. The continuity that Mack offers should be viewed as a good thing; it’s not as if we’re going with a new head coach who knows almost nothing about the program, the school, and the community.
The defeatism I’m seeing from some of the commenters here is premature at best, and I believe it’s uncalled for. Let’s get in a few games, and then we’ll have a basis for further discussion.
@Ron five months from now what you talking about we need to be in the weight room right now working on fundamentals, doing passing league. That’s the one concern with Mac not sure if he still coaching baseball or not but he need to be a full time football coach I wasn’t a fan of Eric but he was full time invested in the football program
@ron it’s one thing being OC and another being head coach were you in charge of the whole program which means practice schedule, weight lifting, passing league, among other items/issues.
I agree we all working day to day but we have seen what a one year hire has done to the Alhambra football program and coach Mac has a lot of red flags for me to believe he is in it for the long term
@ Ring of Fire: Coach Mackintosh is a tough, resilient guy; I don’t think he would’ve accepted the head coaching job at Alhambra High if he didn’t believe he could handle the workload.
Mack has already handled a lot of responsibility for the AHS football program. He’s been on the coaching staff since 2011, and he was the offensive coordinator for 5+ seasons, starting in 2018. In addition, Mack has been the school’s athletic equipment manager since 2019.
It’s also within the realm of possibility that this will be a short-term assignment for Coach Mackintosh, but we’ll see what happens. Aren’t all of us functioning on a year-to-year (or day-to-day) basis anyway?
I hope that Mack, his assistants, and the entire team can hit the ground running five months from now. I know that they’ll be working hard toward that end; we have a lot to prove.
@ Everyone: Coach Mackintosh’s family has been highly supportive of his work in the past. I doubt that Mack would have accepted the head coaching position, even on a short-term basis, if he didn’t have their support.
@ Ring of Fire I would agree he was handled the job most of Alhambra fans would have liked the position to have been advertised and if coach Mac was the guy after interviewing other candidates then so be it. But they just promoted him and given that he missed time last year and also helps with the baseball team not sure he is the guy for the job when they are a lot of good coaches out there
Coach Mac is already having to suffer massive adversity just by reading these comments.
Coach Mac missed time this past year to tend to some things
@Hey Anonymous nobody who’s been around the baseball and football program at Alhambra knows. it’s a valid question to ask, when you are a head football coach it’s time consuming and takes away from your personal life.
HEY Anonymous
Who are you to ask about Coach Mac’s situation? Why don’t you DELETED! The fact that him and his family are ok with this, goes to show what kind of man coach Mac is? Head Football coaches need to teach players to work thru hard times, and being the example of this shows his character! You on the other hand have shown your character with an opinion you should probably keep to yourself! Someone who is opinionated behind a screen. Scum bag!
@ron Vrooman My question if I was administrator at Alhambra is coach Mac has a daughter who suffers from Epilepsy, and being a head football coach is a full time job, can he make that commitment to the program given his family situation? I would say no and that Alhambra will be looking for another head coach shortly as family comes first
We would all be better to realize that Cineceros is near retirement age, and he wanted in at Whittier for the high teaching salary, which would put his pension in a high spot. Understand that a teacher’s pension is pegged to the highest pay you ever got, and the Whittier district is in the top 5% statewide. Jesse knows the dismal prospects at Cardinal land, but he had his eye on the dollars. For this dinero situation, I bet Jesse would even agree in writing to not recruit from the hill.
How’s he doing at Sierra Vista? He’s won but why can’t he stay at one place? Is he out at Sierra Vista?
“Upset” hahaha, ER put the clamps on Arceneaux in that 2019 game in the 2nd half nothing upset about that, Whittier was never going to beat those ER teams. LS and ER have been the cream of the Del Rio for almost a decade and ER can’t come within 4 TD’s of them. Whittier didn’t make the playoffs that year because they had to forfeit most of their games.
Tim, you’re right that another team can make a run like Santa Fe did last year but a league title isn’t even in the thoughts for anyone in the DRL. It wasn’t long ago Whittier had its best team in decades with Arceneaux at RB but got upset by El Rancho and missed the playoffs with a 7-3 record. That’s why La Serna should be in another league. Not only do they get all the advantages in the district but they hurt the other schools while doing so. If they’re not around anymore, let them take their advantages and play teams equal to them.
When WUSD dropped school boundries and opened open enrollment, many Whittier athletes transferred to LS. Many knew that playing was not going to happen. Yet the lure of a DRL Championship Patch motivated many. A chance of a CIF patch/ring could be a fulfilled dream. They were D4 because of their computer ranking. In the old days, they would have been now lower than a 3. DRL is made up of mostly of D9-12 (Cal moves up and down) schools. All the remainder of the DRL want is a fight chance to be a number 1 representative from the DRL. It will be very interesting what recommendations come out of the CIFSS releaguing committee. Once again LS seems a lock to be DRL champions in most 24-25 sports
Exactly
@ Anonymous: An inside job at Alhambra, eh? Many high schools promote coaches from within so they can have better continuity with a new head coach who already understands the culture of the program and the school. Bringing in an outsider, even one who is well-known, doesn’t always guarantee success.
In Coach Mackintosh’s case, the AHS administration and the district didn’t have to create a new teaching position for him; he is already a full-time classified employee at the school.
I also think that Coach Bergstrom, who will remain at AHS as a physical education teacher, needed to unwind and spend more time with his family. He has two school-age daughters who are both athletes, and the eldest, who is in high school, is a gifted musician. I wouldn’t be surprised if he returned to coaching football after a few years off.
On the other hand, Coach Mack could seize the opportunity and make a good run as Alhambra’s head coach. I wish the best for both coaches.
A division 4 really a 2 today playing in a league of divion 12-14 teams means they will have an automatic playoff spot for the next 100 years even if they fall to being a d10 type team. The other teams have to scramble. Does not seem equitable.
Peterson can you explain what happened at Alhambra high seems like an inside job the position wasn’t advertised, they just promoted from within
@The Explanation
I think your tinfoil hat is on too tight, bro
Whittier will be in the open division within 5 years with their new hire. Trust me. The guy you’re talking about is a bum and can’t get the job done.
Haven’t heard that I’m a while. If you want to know so much maybe dig a little deeper. Because it was all there everything you would need to make a competitive team for a long time coach, facilities, kids, area. Just not the most important part I guess the support from admin.
@ fumbled the ball : haters continue to be haters, no matter what the truth is Tim just told it like it is Great article Tim …… Just a hater
Perhaps they did not want him bad enough, Tim. How does a coach bounce back from wanting to exit? How does he coach a team that he does not want to be part of. 2 yrs at Whittier then he wouldve wanted out just like where he is at now. Thats the wrong attitude to have if im a state by default champion coach! How come you are only putting it on the admin. maybe you should dig deeper and do your job! Instead of assumming!
May have more to do with Friendly Hills faithful not wanting a successful well known coach keeping players that might have went to the WUHSD darlings.
Very well written : Tim
It’s not Whttier that is keeping themselves down, it’s the district. Whittier really wanted Ciniceros, which is why we heard he was going to be hired…but the district really didn’t want a guy who might poach players from their favored program on the hill. I also believe that this same board hired Bateman because they thought he was lousy, a move that backfired on them.
If the Whittier high school district could have their way entirely, they would forbid any athletics whatsoever at any of their schools except La Serna, making the hill the only place to play. That’s the God’s-honest truth.
Great read! All great questions. Someone please make that Whittier decision make sense.
Oh and LETS GO LS!
I know who it is