These Orange County teams qualified as at-large teams …
Division 1 — Huntington Beach, Servite, Mission Viejo (fyi, Brea Olinda qualified automatically as the Century League’s No. 4 team, did not go in as at-large although league coaches indicated that would happen).
Division 2 — Yorba Linda, Laguna Hills.
Division 4 — Godinez.
More baseball news from the OCVarsity blog:
Check out this introduction video from Servite’s new football coach, A.J. Gass.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
A.J. Gass today was named varsity football head coach at Servite. Gass currently is Dean of Students at Servite, and was an assistant coach on the staff of his predecessor, Troy Thomas.
Gass, 37, was an All-Orange County defensive back at Servite, class of 1993. He went on to play at Fresno State, where he was an all-conference linebacker. Gass then played 10 years in the Canadian Football League, with the Edmonton Eskimos.
After retiring as a player, Gass coached one year for the Eskimos before returning to Servite in 2010.
Thomas resigned earlier this year to accept the football head coaching position at Crespi of Encino. Thomas was coach at Crespi, his alma mater, before taking the Servite coaching job in 2005.
Watch an introduction video from Gass.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
Servite has zeroed in on its next football coach. The announcement could come today, maybe Thursday, definitely Friday at the latest.
There were 70 applicants. Paper screening and preliminary talks reduced the pool to four finalists — Servite dean of students and assistant football coach A.J. Gass (and a great player at Servite in the ’90s), and three out-of-area coaches including one from outside of California.
All four were abundantly qualified, or they would not have advanced to the final four.
The opening was created when Troy Thomas decided to return to coaching at Crespi of Encino, his alma mater and where he was coach before he took the Servite job in 2005.
The new coach has one heck of a schedule awaiting him. Here is the Servite football schedule for 2013 …
We understand that Servite has four finalists for its varsity football coaching position. One of them is Servite football assistant coach A.J. Gass, also Servite dean of students and a former All-County player for the Friars.
The school’s goal is to announce its choice of football coach next Friday.
The position became open when Troy Thomas accepted the football head coaching position at Crespi of Encino, Thomas’ alma mater and where he was head coach before taking the Servite job in 2005.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
Servite water polo center Patrick Harding has signed with UC San Diego, Friars coach Mustafa Hassan reports.
Harding was the Friars’ top senior in 2012 and was selected first-team All-Trinity League.
UC San Diego’s roster also includes former Huntington Beach center Tiki Toplak. The Tritons lost in the finals of the WWPA tournament to Air Force last season.
Please send water polo recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@ocregister.com
Servite has set an April 4 deadline for applications and resumes for its varsity football head coaching position, vacated when Troy Thomas resigned Monday to take the football coaching job at Crespi of Encino.
Resumes and applications to Servite associate athletic director Joel Hartmann at jhartmann@servitehs.org. Interviews happen April 12-23. The announcement of the new coach is set for April 26.
We have checked with several people as to their interest in the Servite position.
Mission Viejo football coach Bob Johnson. “Probably, no,” Johnson said. He was very interested a few years ago in the Santa Margarita job that went to Harry Welch. Johnson has sons Bret and Rob as Mission assistant coaches, and a grandson in the program there.
Former Servite assistant coach Rick Garretson, now an assistant at Chandler High in Arizona, said he would not apply to return to his alma mater.
UCLA assistant coach Chris Reinert, a Servite alum, is very interested and will apply.
La Habra head coach Frank Mazzotta said he loves La Habra and dedicated to Highlanders football, but just might give it a look-see.
Ed Drzanek, El Modena head coach, a former Servite assistant for many years and a Servite alum, has not quite gotten back to us on this issue (long story) but we will talk with him.
More to come on this in the Fryer column later this week.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
Servite was 75-25 during Troy Thomas’ eight-year tenure, but the Friars went 3-7 overall and failed to make the playoffs in 2012. / ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Troy Thomas resigned as football coach at Servite on Tuesday to become coach at his alma mater, Crespi of Encino.
Thomas coached Servite for eight seasons. The Friars were league champions or co-champions in seven of those seasons, and he won CIF-Southern Section championships in 2009 and ’10. Servite also won a CIF State title in ’09.
Servite was 75-25 during his tenure. The Friars had their only non-playoff, non-league championship season under Thomas last year when they were 3-7 overall and 1-4 in the Trinity League.
Thomas coached at Crespi from 2001 to ’04. The Celts won the CIF-SS Division 10 championship under Thomas in ’04.
Jon Mack resigned as Crespi coach Friday, although that was not publicized until Monday. Thomas was contacted Saturday and quickly accepted the Celts’ offer. His mother lives in the San Fernando Valley.
“I’m going home to my alma mater,” he said Tuesday. “I’m excited about that and about being closer to my mom.”
In 2004, the season before Thomas arrived at Servite, the Friars were 2-8 overall and 0-5 in the Serra League. In ’05, Servite was 10-3 overall and Serra League co-champion with a 4-1 record. Thomas was the Register’s Orange County coach of the year in ’05.
Among Servite’s other accomplishments during Thomas’ tenure were victories over rival Mater Dei in 2009, ’10 and ’11. Servite had not defeated Mater Dei in football since 1988.
Thomas said what he will most miss about Servite is the associations with the athletes.
“The Servite men, that to me is the most special thing about Servite,” Thomas said. “A very close second is the parents. The parents of Servite are unbelievable and they are why the young men of Servite are unbelievable.”
Servite athletic director Alan Clinton said the school as of Tuesday had not set a timeline for hiring a football coach.
Mack reportedly resigned to accept an administrative position at Santa Clara of Oxnard. Crespi was 8-2 overall and 2-2 in the Serra League in 2012, when the Celts did not qualify for the playoffs.
Speculation on the next Servite coach is going to center around these coaches: Ed Drzanek, longtime Servite assistant and an alum there, now the head coach at El Modena; Centennial of Corona coach Matt Logan (a candidate back in 2005, when Thomas got the job); Brian Barnes, recently deposed as Tesoro coach; Frank Mazzotta of La Habra (I spoke with him today; he loves La Habra but would be flattered by interest from Servite); Dusan Ancich, Villa Park head coach. Or maybe it will be a college football assistant, much like Orange Lutheran football and Santa Margarita basketball recently brought in veteran college assistant coaches.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
Servite football coach Troy Thomas is meeting with the school’s football players this afternoon. The meeting will address whether he is staying at Servite or leaving. The football coach at Crespi of Encino, Jon Mack, resigned the position yesterday. Thomas is a Crespi alum, and was Crespi’s head coach before taking the Servite job in 2005.
Thomas has led Servite football to great success — CIF and league championships, and returned Servite football to the top of the county football pyramid.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
The Servite-at-Mater Dei baseball game today is at 3 p.m. It was a 6 p.m. game, then moved to 4 p.m. because there is a state tournament boys basketball game at Mater Dei today at 7 p.m. (Monarchs vs. Long Beach Poly, a good one).
Now it is a 3 p.m. game. Trinity League opener. Mater Dei has not played since March 1, when the Monarchs split a doubleheader with St. Mary’s of Stockton. Servite is 2-2-1, and looks to be improved.
More baseball news from the OCVarsity blog:
As Santa Margarita football coach Harry Welch said this morning, “That’s what I’m hearing through the coaching grapevine.”
If I am Crespi and my football coach resigned, which happened Monday when Jon Mack resigned (Daily News reports Mack might take an administrative job at Santa Clara of Ventura), I check in with Welch at least on a consultant basis.
Troy Thomas, who has coached Servite football to remarkable success at Servite since 2005, is said this morning to be on the tarmac to replace Mack at Crespi of Encino, Thomas’ alma mater and where he coached before moving on to Servite.
We have calls and contacts out to a bunch of people at Servite, including Thomas himself.
Thomas likes being at Servite, but if everything was just right he might be on the road to Encino.
More football news from the OCVarsity blog:
The Friars tied the game at 1-1 with seconds remaining in the SoCal Division II Regional semifinal as Felipe Silva knocked it in, but Servite fell in PKs to Canoga Park 3-1.
Video by Jonathan Khamis, for OCVarsity.com.
Click here to read game recap.
More videos on the OCVarsity blog:
Slideshow: Hot Shots Overtime 1: Tuesday's baseball playoffs (5-14-13)
Slideshow: Hot Shots Overtime 1: Wednesday's volleyball semifinals (5-15-13)
Slideshow: Hot Shots Overtime 2: Thursday's softball playoffs (5-16-13)
Slideshow: Hot Shots Overtime 2: Wednesday's tennis, baseball playoffs (5-15-13)
Slideshow: Hot Shots Overtime: Monday's spring sports (5-13-13)
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