By George Hernandez
First I want to say I’ve worked in the district with La Serna for five years now at multiple different schools I’m currently on my third year on campus in the Special Ed department.
Since 2010, La Serna has participated in seven CIF-SS title games and won two-including a regional and state title in 2023. The Lancers have a 66-4 Del Rio League record, with the last loss coming to Santa Fe in 2017.
The Lancers’ overall record during this span is 147-40.
And after all that success, the people outside of “Friendly Hills” can’t stand them.
Read a Del Rio League game comment section, and you’ll see they don’t even have to be involved in the game.
In the past, they were accused of running up the score, and this year, people are upset because they’re not winning enough. To the commentators, it seemed that the Lancers and their head coach, Andy George, knew how to work the system.
But what is it really? I’m on campus at La Serna, so this is not hearsay. I’ve been in multiple classes with their players; they sit in the front of the class, don’t talk back. I’ve seen players like Jayden Northrup weekly in our lunch club, where our Special Ed students work with them. Current player Noah Pena has also promoted our student for homecoming queen. I walk by players like Jordan Bonilla throughout the day and receive a “hello, sir” more times than not. As a team, they also give back to the community around the holidays.
Coach George hasn’t sold his soul to a 7-on-7 guy to get a bunch of transfers in because the kids want to run the spread and look good. They still run their wing offense and pound the rock, which is “boring” and not “fan-friendly.” They attract kids to come here because they consistently win.
Most of the comments and narratives are that the Del Rio League is weak. La Serna didn’t ask to be put in the Del Rio. One of the teams that complained the most isn’t even joining the realignment.
The Lancers make up for their weak league by lining up their non-league schedule against the likes of Northview, Damien, Crean Lutheran, and Edison – all perennial playoff teams.
Another comment is about them being the “Privileged Friendly Hills Kids.” I’ve worked at multiple schools; there is nothing different between them and a kid from Whittier, Santa Fe, or El Rancho. They may drive up the hill in a nicer car to school, but they’ve got a bunch of hard-nosed coaches ready to make them work at practice.
So let the comment section blow up with keyboard heroes chirping about a weak league or poaching – in an open enrollment district. The numbers don’t lie, and the culture is visible to anyone who steps on campus. The coaches continue to teach an old-school offense, the players remain in the front row, and the team continues to line up against the toughest competition they can find. They don’t need outside validation or a new league. They just need to keep hanging banners as a testament to a program that demonstrates its success through winning, hard work, and giving back.
After all that being said the Lancers got placed in Division 5 and will host Lakewood Friday night at Sandra Thorstenson Stadium and are looking for their third straight trip to the finals.
Loading ...
I don’t understand why everyone makes such a big fuss about the Whittier area releaguing when every other area does it every couple of years. Just look at the East SGV area, they’ve been changing for over a decade now. No one says those schools complain.
From what I heard from more than a few reliable sources is this.
It was agreed upon by the Whittier principals to combine with the Montebello schools along with El Rancho. This would have been close to what was called the old Whitmont league. And La Serna would go with La Mirada, Downey, Warren, etc. La Serna didn’t like that so the Whittier Superintendent said they all had to stay together and enter the new big conference of 20 teams. Well guess what, La Serna will still be in the league they didn’t want to be in and the other schools will still be in a league that they should be competitive in.
El Rancho is the only Del Rio school not in the Whittier district so they decided they would honor the agreement they made with the Montebello schools. If you look at the proposals, each one had El Rancho, Schurr, Montebello, and Bell Gardens together because of the original idea of bringing back the old league.
I really don’t think it’s as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. It’s high school sports. Orange County leagues are now designated by the Greek alphabet.
Thank you, George!
I’ve been an LS football fan since 2000, through the tough years when Santa Fe was dominating the Del Rio League and I’ve seen the amazing changes over time. I still remember the 2010 team with quarterback Buenrostro, Alvarez at running back, and the unforgettable Frankie Palmer years leading up to that 2013 CIF Championship!
We’ve had so many great players over the years, like QB Andrew Henriquez and WR Jake George, along with countless standouts on both offense and defense. And who could forget the State Championship team with Long, Ceron, Castro, Law, Northrup, Tufaga, and the rest of that incredible roster.
There are countless names I’m not even mentioning, but none of those players are ever forgotten by us fans.
I’m a die hard LS fan and so proud of everything this program has accomplished.
We are LS!
Has anyone in human history ever been more brain dead than @Bottom Line?
I don’t even know where to start with the whole comparison of La Serna to Nazi Germany, so I won’t bother.
If you’re a parent of a football player entering high school in WUHSD, you line up all the programs and check the resumes. There’s a head guy telling anyone who will listen that he’s just waiting to get tenured in the district before he resigns. Another one is an LS retread running the Kirkland brand of the Lancer offense. The next one is a one-hit wonder who had players quitting on him mid-season this year. And the last one is in D32.
Meanwhile there’s a school 5-10 minutes away that makes deep playoff runs in high divisions year after year, with a staff that’s been together for over a decade.
Who you picking?
You don’t like it? Hire the right people and build your own damn culture. Use a Del Rio League runner-up t-shirt to wipe your tears first.
They didn’t take anything from C, who in their right mind goes for a field goal when you have 4th and 1 in the red zone with an Offensive Line averaging 300 lbs, a double wing offense and a D1 back? At the very worst you get stuffed and LS has to drive 90 yards for a TD. Coach C handed that Championship away.
No one hates La Serna, to point out advantages created by their district is not hate, it’s reality. People hate arrogance. People hate the LeBron and Kevin Durant effect of always wanting to jump to the strong team and not willing to fight to beat that team. Making this post as if La Serna is some kind of victim of unwarranted hate is foolish, they don’t need it.
If you got informed you would know it wasn’t “1 team” who complained the most. It was the parents of the WUHSD district schools, Cal High, Whittier, Santa Fe, Pioneer who got tired of all the best kids from their neighborhood going to La Serna who started putting pressure on their schools admin to stop allowing this to happen. The one team you are taking shots at had zero to do with the realignment, that school had almost a guaranteed entry into the playoffs yearly since all the WUHSD schools were weakened by La Serna’s ability to pull kids away from them.
There is zero doubt that LS has a good culture and a solid staff, it’s easy for anyone to coach in a solid culture that was primarily created by the advantage created by the district, I would not call that hate, I would just say congrats to Whittier Union High School district for putting the resources into creating a great situation at La Serna. I’ve said it 100 times you could plug in anyone as the head coach, you can go to the spread, double wing, wing t, power I, Veer don’t matter and La Serna would succeed because they have more athletes than most teams they will ever play against. Put that staff at Whittier or Cal Hi without all the athletes they have at LS and they would never win a thing.
Who in the heck is everyone? LSJUGGERNAUT. He hates himself.
@ LSJuggernaut
I seen LS take a title from my mentor Coach C in 2013 in the best HS I’ve ever seen. I went on to get a pair of rings in 2019. I’m just here speaking what I see.
These guys sitting in the front of the class aren’t gaining anything more than minimum-wage job qualifications, which they could get a whole lot easier at their local schools. The thing that pisses everyone off, George, is that the kids who run to the hill do it for the sake of being part of an all-star team, which of course wins big, and that’s supposed to amaze everyone in the lowlands. I’m here to say loud and clear that a kid could apply himself or herself equally well in their own neighborhood school AND RETAIN SOME DIGNITY for showing loyalty to their own locality.
The French hated the women who made nice with the occupying Nazi soldiers in World War II, because it was seen as a betrayal of the French nation. The thing you have to get through your head, George, is that the people of the non-hill areas see the kids who run to the hill for sports as equally traitorous creatures. What’s worse, is guys like you are cheerleaders for them.
Once again, best wishes to La Serna Football.
The next couple of years will be interesting. Not necessarily positive or negative. Just interesting. They have been a well oiled machine with a nice mix of fine talent and fine coaching.
@Truth yes sir, SH side.
“One of the teams that complained the most isn’t even joining the realignment.”
Hey El Rancho (running scared) folks, phone call on line 1, it’s your DADDY calling!!!
Bwaahhaaaaaaa
This is not shocking, considering that’s all ER folks do on here is complain.
Mr Hernandez, keep dropping the truth bombs.
KABOOM!!
George, when you say you work in special ed do you mean you are a special ed instructional aide ?
Well said/written!
Oh hells yeah! Now this is the kind of article I’ve been waiting for. They so jelly.
THEY HATE US, BECAUSE THEY AIN’T US!!!
LA SERNA BABY IN THE HOUSE!
Props to Coach Andy George and his coaching staff for keeping their players grounded and running the program the way a great program should run.
If you’re a high school football player, you won’t get a better HS FB coaching staff, education, family brotherhood, & all around HD FB experience than playing on the hill in the Kingdom that is La Serna High School.
We won a CIF Championship Ring when I played @LS, be that next La Serna legend and get yourself a ring 2! LFG