BURBANK - Less than a month after the departure of former coach, Guards tab Burbank High graduate David Machuca to help ‘restore the glory. Bellarmine-Jefferson High wasted little time replacing its football coach. In fact, less than a month after former coach Rolando Aguirre stepped down, a new coach has taken his place.
David Machuca, 27, a 2002 Burbank High graduate who most recently served as an assistant at Chaminade, has been picked to help revive the Guards’ program.
Bell-Jeff Principal John Matheus said it was imperative that the school find a replacement for Aguirre in as little time as possible.
“It was important for us to fill the position quickly,” Matheus said. “We had a search committee here at Bell-Jeff and we had about 25 applications. From those we narrowed it down to about six interviews, and this young man came out on top.”
Matheus added that Bell-Jeff was dedicated to bringing in an individual to turn around a program that has had its share of struggles the past few years.
“We’re really happy to have him,” Matheus said. “We are ready to continue to what I call ‘restore the glory’ here and we want to move ahead in football and build a successful program.”
Machuca is familiar with the football culture in the city. Along with playing for the Burbank Vikings Youth Tackle Football program, he also competed for the Bulldogs.
Machuca, who will also be a teacher at the school, said taking the Bell-Jeff was a prospect he couldn’t pass up.
“I’m just excited about the opportunity that I’ve been given at Bell-Jeff,” said Machuca, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard for four years after graduating from Burbank. “I am bringing over a few coaches from Chaminade and we’re young, we’re hungry and we are ready to help turn around this program.
“Burbank and Burroughs have done great jobs with their programs the past few years and I think the city of Burbank is just bursting at the seams with football talent.”
Machuca said his three-year tenure at Chaminade under Coach Ed Croson was invaluable. The past two seasons, the Eagles have been able to advance to the CIF Southern Section Western Division semifinals.
This past season, Chaminade went 10-3, placed second in the Mission League behind Gardena Serra and advanced to the division final four, losing for the second straight year to Arroyo Grande, 45-36.
The Eagles went 11-2 in 2010.
“Coach Croson has been a great mentor to me,” said Machuca, who was an assistant for three years. “When we got to Chaminade they were in rebuilding mode and we were able to turn the program around.”
Bell-Jeff has struggled the past two seasons, finishing last in the Santa Fe League both years. The Guards went 2-8 this past season and were 5-15 the past two years.
Under Aguirre, who finished with a 69-68 record in 13 years as head coach, Bell-Jeff proved it could be a successful program. In just his second season as coach in 2000, the Guards won a share of the Santa Fe League championship. It was the program’s first title in 46 years.
Bell-Jeff also captured undisputed championships in 2004 and 2007, as the teams finished with 9-2 records both seasons.
Machuca, who is in the process of assembling his coaching staff and who said he will meet with Bell-Jeff players Wednesday, said he sees no reason why the Guards can’t return to being a winning program.
“The objective is pretty simple with my staff and we’ve been talking about it the last couple of days,” Machuca said. “We want to get the student involvement and we want to bring the alumni back out to the football games and be proud of what’s going on with the program.”
Jeff Tully/LA Times
BELL-JEFF VS. VIEWPOINT
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. Friday.
WHERE: Viewpoint High.
RECORDS: The Guards are 2-2; the Patriots are 2-1.
LAST WEEK: Bell-Jeff lost to Malibu, 49-12; Viewpoint had a bye.
OUTLOOK: It will be a battle of different offensive styles when the teams meet for a nonleague contest. Bell-Jeff likes to keep the ball on the ground, employing a double-wing to pick up the majority of its yardage. In contrast, Viewpoint runs a more balanced offense and can throw the ball with efficiency when needed.
Leading the aerial blitz is senior quarterback Joey Verhaugh, a transfer from Crespi. Verhaugh has thrown for 411 yards and five touchdowns. The Patriots also have two solid running backs in Adam Markun (265 yards, five touchdowns) and Dakota Williams (178 yards, three touchdowns). Bell-Jeff has a productive running back of its own in junior Joshua Martinez, who was sidelined in last week’s game after sustaining a leg injury. Martinez has scored eight touchdowns this season. The Patriots are coming off of a bye week after last playing against Los Angeles Baptist on Sept. 16 and coming away with a 49-7 win.
SOMETHING INTERERSING: The Bell-Jeff and Viewpoint defenses both have surrendered an average of 21.7 points a game.
Jeff Tully
BELL-JEFF VS. MALIBU
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.
WHERE: North Hollywood High.
RECORDS: The Guards are 2-1; the Sharks are 1-2.
LAST WEEK: Bell-Jeff defeated Rosamond, 27-18; Malibu defeated St. Monica, 17-3.
OUTLOOK: After a rough start in their season-opening game — a 12-8 loss to Flintridge Prep — the Guards have been able to notch two straight victories. In just two games, Bell-Jeff has been able to equal its win output of 2010, when it went 2-8. One reason for the success the last two games has been the play of junior running back Joshua Martinez, who has been on a tear. Last week, he scored three touchdowns to bring his season total to eight. Malibu has had problems scoring this season, totaling just 14 points in its two losses. The team averages 10.3 points a game. Under Coach Rolando Aguirre, Bell-Jeff’s defense gives up an average of 12.6 points a game. But it was the Sharks’ defense that stepped up last week, yielding just a field goal. After falling behind, 3-0, against St. Monica — which, like Bell-Jeff, plays in the Santa Fe League — Malibu scored 17 unanswered points. The Sharks have a good running back in senior Nate Dowler and a solid quarterback in sophomore Dylan Miller.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: The Guards will have two more nonleague games against Viewpoint and Mountain View before opening league play Oct. 14 at defending champion Salesian.
Jeff Tully
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BURBANK - With just two wins last year, the Guards hit the season with a new offense and a renewed outlook.The 2010 football season is one that Bellarmine-Jefferson High Coach Rolando Aguirre can’t put behind him fast enough.
“We definitely had our problems last season,” said Aguirre, whose team went 2-8 and finished last in the Santa Fe League with a 0-4 record. “Things didn’t go very well for us and we just didn’t play very well either.”
The Guards have had to deal with their share of adversity in the summer, as they have been unable to practice at their usual venue, Brace Park, because of ongoing improvements to the facility. Instead, Bell-Jeff has been relegated to tiny Palm Park for its preseason workouts.
On top of that, the team — along with Burroughs and Burbank — will not have the use of its home field this season, as Memorial Field is undergoing a renovation.
“We will be playing our home games at North Hollywood High,” Aguirre said. “That was the closest field that we could find. We might not be playing our home games at our own field, but at least we have a place for our home games.
“It’s a good stadium and we’re happy to be playing there.”
Bell-Jeff will also be dealing with the loss of its best player from a year ago, Micah Shirley, who graduated. Shirley, who played quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back, was a bright spot for the struggling Guards in 2010, earning him All-CIF Southern Section Northeast Division honors.
On offense, Shirley had 119 carries for 1,210 yards (10.2 yards a carry) and seven touchdowns, hauled in 24 passes for 402 yards (16.8 yards a catch) and eight touchdowns and he completed nine of 27 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown. In addition, he scored 92 points. On defense, he had 122 tackles (12.2 a game) and four interceptions.
With Shirley running the show last season, Aguirre retooled the offense, opening it up more. The Guards tried more of a passing game, which ultimately didn’t pay many dividends. But this year, Aguirre has switched to a more ball-control offense, and will try and keep the ball on the ground more.
“We are going back to the basics, we’ve got to,” Aguirre said. “The good thing about us is that we have a good [junior varsity] nucleus, and that will help us. We have some workhorses and the guys have been working very hard.”
The Guards will get a chance to start the season on the right foot when they open the campaign at 7 p.m. Friday with a nonleague Zero Week game against Flintridge Prep at North Hollywood High.
Aguirre said he has a group of running backs who should be able to implement the new offense. Junior Joshua Martinez (5 feet 10, 180 pounds) will be joined by sophomores Demitri Moreno (5-9, 160) and Vartan Bekarian (5-11, 190).
“We have some young guys in the backfield, but they also have some talent,” Aguirre said. “It’s going to be a competition to see who gets the most yards this season. We will see who wants to be the top dog. It’s going to be fun to watch.
“I’m also excited about our o-line. We have some big boys up front.”
Opening holes for the running backs on the offensive line will be senior Brian Del Valle (6-0, 310) and juniors Ryan Okiishi (6-0, 265) and Geraldo Paz (5-8, 275).
Taking over the duties at quarterback is junior Mitch Kellogg, who had two brothers who also played in the program for Aguirre. The coach said Kellogg has a strong arm and is “very competitive and brings so much to the table.”
Some of Kellogg’s targets will be tight end Matt Landini (6-0, 195), a senior, and junior wide receivers Andrew Belsito (6-2, 185) and Michael Gomez (5-11, 175).
On defense, the linebackers will be sophomore Eric Agaverdyan (5-10, 165), Bekerian, Gomez and Moreno.
“We have linebackers who are quick and have the talent,” Aguirre said. “That’s something that we haven’t had here in a while. While our linebacking is strong, our secondary is slightly suspect.”
The defensive backs will be Martinez, junior Jarel D’Costa (5-8, 145) and sophomore Alejandro Marroquin (5-8, 155).
Manning the defensive line will be juniors Trystin Navarro (5-11, 265) and Jomar Navarro (5-11, 275), along with senior Mario Ramos (5-9, 240). Aguirre said he also plans on rotating some of the offensive linemen to play on defense.
Marroquin will handle the kicking duties and D’Costa will be the punter.
While the coach said he hopes to get back to the postseason, he expects a tough going in league.
“Salesian has a great running back and they should be good,” he said. “St. Genevieve has a very good quarterback and St. Anthony will throw quite a bit. So, it’s going to be tough.
“We missed the playoff last year. But about five years ago we also missed the playoffs. But the year after missing it we came back to win the league. So, you never know.”
With just four league games, the Guards will play six nonleague contests. Following their opener against the Rebels (2-6-1), the Guards take on Fairmont Prep (4-7) on Sept. 10 at North Hollywood High, face host Rosamond (2-8) on Sept. 16, take on Malibu (1-8-1) on Sept. 24 at North Hollywood High, travel to Viewpoint (2-6-1) on Sept. 30 and take on host Mountain View (5-5) on Oct. 7.
The Guards start Santa Fe League play Oct. 14 at Salesian (2-8).
Jeff Tully - LA Times
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BELL-JEFF VS. ST. MONICA
WHEN: 7 p.m. today.
WHERE: Santa Monica City College.
RECORDS: The Guards are 2-6, 0-2 in league; the Mariners are 4-3, 0-1.
LAST WEEK: Bell-Jeff lost to St. Genevieve, 53-18; St. Monica lost to Salesian, 34-7.
OUTLOOK: The outlook for the Guards making the CIF Southern Section playoffs isn’t good after losing their first two Santa Fe League games. The Guards are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. During that four-game skid, Bell-Jeff has been outscored, 165-65. Bell-Jeff will take on a St. Monica team that has been stingy on defense this season. The Mariners give up an average of just 16 points a game. In contrast, the Guards give up and average of 31.5 a game. The Mariners have a solid quarterback in Matthew Partyka, and the team loves to take to the air on offense.
SOMETHING INTERESTING: The last time Bell-Jeff failed to make the postseason was 2003.
Jeff Tully
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