JJ SAYS: As dust settles, a new look for area football

Area football has a whole new look.|

I lost a good portion of a night’s sleep recently trying to get my head around what is going on with area football.

It started in January 2017 when Trent Herzog was let go as Casa Grande head football coach. Officially, his contract was not renewed and he left by mutual consent. Cutting through verbage, he was let go for what remain as unspecified reasons. That is old news, but it was only the beginning of a complicated coaching trail.

Denis Brunk, the then Santa Rosa High coach, was hired to replace Herzog, and we got down to the fun business of playing football with Casa stumbling off to an 0-6 start, but recovering to win four straight wins and make the North Coast Section playoffs where it advanced to the quarterfinal round by beating Montgomery, with Herzog on the Viking sidelines as an assistant coach.

Meanwhile, at St. Vincent de Paul High School, a new administration had taken charge and Gary Galloway, who had coached at the Catholic school for three decades, stepped away from the football team.

After a search, he was replaced by John Antonio, who had been an assistant at both Casa Grande and St. Vincent, as well as head coach at Piner High School. Less than a month after accepting the job, Antonio left to attend to personal matters.

Re-enter Herzog. Missing the contact with players and the community, he applied for the St. Vincent job and was the top choice out of 14 candidates vying to replace Antonio, who never coached a down.

When I write it out, it really reads like a Lego creation with all sorts of interlocking pieces.

The good news is that, after it all shakes out, it looks like everybody is going to come out just fine.

The transition from Herzog to Brunk at Casa Grande, despite a few hiccups, worked out largely because Brunk made it work with his enthusiasm and diplomacy.

St. Vincent has the coach it needs to make its return to big-time football. The school has ambitious plans, and it won’t happen overnight, but if anyone can bring about the hoped-for and planned-for transformation, it is Herzog. It is not just his coaching ability that gives reason for optimism, but his connections in the community and his ability to attract quality assistants will prove invaluable. It took awhile, but St. Vincent got it right.

Meanwhile, the Petaluma High program under Rick Krist just keeps rolling along, fielding quality teams and winning football games - with or without a home field.

A bright new home field and a new league awaits the Trojans next season, but their coaching staff and their tradition will continue in a changing world.

That change will include a new league for both Petaluma and Casa Grande as they join the new Vine Valley Athletic League to play against, among others, Napa, Vintage and American Canyon. St. Vincent will drop out of the North Central League to play as an independent, at least for a couple of years, with the intent of eventually joining the newly re-configured North Bay League.

It is time for a fresh start for all and hopefully one less thing for me to fret about in the middle of the night.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)

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