Andre Ortega jumps into Pioneer as the new head coach.
By Tim Peterson
(Whittier) – Pioneer has named Andre Ortega as its new head football coach the school confirmed Thursday.
Ortega’s previous stop was at Montebello where he served as offensive coordinator for the last four years. Ortega takes over for Ramon Juarez who stepped down after last season.
The Titans finished 7-7 overall last year and advanced all the way to the CIF Division 14 championship game where they fell to South El Monte 14-6.
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they will be playing 8 man football in three years max. embarrassing and sad to see how far this program has fallen.
@Anonymous,
You’re right. The LS admin cannot facilitate that. But do you think administrators actually make the decisions? The superintendent does and she is at the pleasure of the Board. And guess who the board wants to cater to most? The parents who speak up the most at board meetings. And you know who that is? Yup! You guessed it, La Serna.
It’s the reason why WUHSD was at the forefront of “let them play” during Covid. It sure wasn’t the PHS or WHS families. And it’s the reason the Whitmont League was never officially moved forward with. If La Serna couldn’t be happy, then no one could!!!
La Serna established itself over time (since 2010) and with 2 cif championships and now a state championship + test scores are the reason parents send their kids to LS. Don’t worry though, the new league arrangement will keep LS a 2nd or 3rd place team for a while.
And no, Rise of the Titans, LS would not be shut down regardless of open enrollment. The parking at Pioneer is now a determining factor? lmao get real. Parking is okay at best. Great stadium? You guys don’t even have AC in the locker rooms for the players. Freeway is loud af and the aquatic center isn’t even yours lol. Be happy with the success your program has had and stop comparing schools just because someone said some stuff you thought was dumb.
And for everyone peddling this conspiracy about how everything is catered towards LS is wrong… the LS admin is not smart enough to facilitate that lmao
I heard LS admin shut down the Ceniceros Whittier hire a couple of years ago.
as expected? Do you mean that you believe Pioneer high actually has open possible teaching jobs but the district does not want to open a job at pioneer high school for head coach in football because district don’t want possibility of a quality hire?
Just stop. Good people are remembering a cop that was shot and killed a few blocks from La Serna today. Rather than worrying about Pioneer area maybe take a candle to La Serna. Crime is everywhere and La Serna High area stolen car rates are much higher. Google it. So exactly what is your problem? Your passive aggressive crap is not hiding your true ideologies and biases. BTW all campuses are county facilities not privatly owned. Check your tax bill.
Riser failed to mention that the aquatic center is NOT part of the Pioneer campus, but is a standalone county facility. The other omission is the higher crime rate in the Titan neighborhood. Being in the unincorporated part of Whittier, criminals know the police response time is slower, so their confidence in getting away with robbery and car theft is elevated. I’m not whistling Dixie here either…I personally know two people who have had their cars stolen while parked just one block from the stadium.
If it wasn’t for open enrollment La Serna would be the school to shut down,thats reality. The bulk of the students come from outside La Serna attendance area. Pioneer has a great campus with a great faculty,great stadium, great aquatic center, adequate parking, facilities that La Serna cannot match. So quit the nonsense you keep trying to stir up.
To be blunt, the lack of good players available to this new coach is what’s not to love. This high school was built expressly to accommodate the overflow from ER and SF during the baby boomer era. With that era long gone, keeping this place open means drastically reduced enrollment and commensurate athletic impotence. I know many people don’t ‘love’ hearing this, but it’s the truth and no good ever came from ducking reality.
A Pioneer Alumni, who was a solid player playing for Coach Ramon Juarez. What’s not to love when giving back to his community!
Mr. Ortega was a great football player at Pioneer. Coached under Juarez for a few years @ Pioneer, Coached under Ancich at Whittier for a few years, at latest at Montebello with Gonzalez last 4 years as OC. Pretty sure he has put his time in with some good local coaches. Congrats coach.
Congratulations Coach Ortega!
To all of you criticizing this hire, get your facts correct. This individual understands/knows football, the community, and communicates effectively with his players. If you are truly bothered by the hire, then you should have applied. Better yet, if you want to make a difference, join his team and stop being an armchair coach.
Congratulations Coach.
Pioneer was D14 last year Montebello was a D13 finalist. You sound like you think they should have hired huge name, who applied?
Never heard of this guy, but that’s what you get when there’s no teaching job to go with the hire. Whittier’s acquisition was a grand-slam; Pioneer’s is a strikeout. Very curious thing is that all the Whittier high schools not named La Serna are being staffed the cheap way. Hard not to conclude that there’s an agenda to keep the talent draining upward, onto the hill.
An OC from a division 14 team that’s the best we could do. Hope he does well but but very uninspiring hire.