Sartoris Steps Down at Glendale : Vaquero Coach Turns Over Reins to Longtime Assistant Cicuto After Posting 111 Wins

Jim Sartoris announced his resignation as Glendale College football coach Wednesday, citing the difficulty of balancing his responsibilities as athletic director and chairman of the physical education division.

Sartoris, 44, who has coached the Vaqueros since 1972, will step down and defensive coordinator John Cicuto will take over. Sartoris will assume responsibilities as running back coach.

“I was really overloaded,” said Sartoris, who made the decision to resign midway through this season. “It was like I was walking a tightrope. I was thinking it’s ridiculous to do all these things.”

Sartoris, who posted a record of 111-63-1, led Glendale to 4 victories in 7 bowl games, including a 23-20 win Dec. 3 over Santa Monica in the inaugural Western State Conference Bowl game. The Vaqueros were 10-2 this season, which made Sartoris the 13th-winningest active junior college football coach in the nation.

The team was told of the coaching change in a meeting Wednesday.

Sartoris said that he does not anticipate any regrets about his decision. “I feel good about it because I never thought of it as my program,” he said. “It has been our program.”

Cicuto, 44, who attended Notre Dame High with Sartoris and joined the Glendale coaching staff in 1975, said that Sartoris informed him of the decision last week. However, Cicuto noticed during the season that Sartoris was discontent.

“He was under a lot of stress this year,” Cicuto said. “And when you’re 10-2 and you’re under a lot of stress, you know something’s up.”

Though the Vaqueros had an excellent season, Sartoris said he was never happy.

“I didn’t have time to say, ‘Hey, we’re 10-2’ . . . It just wasn’t worth it,” he said. “My being away so much was really hard on my family. It came to a point where I wasn’t doing a good job with anything.”

Cicuto said that upon receiving the news he felt a strong sense of disappointment.

“My first reaction was that we had such a great chemistry and he should hang in as long as he could,” Cicuto said. “But later I was very excited and elated that I’d get a chance.

“If I could pick any school to coach at, it would be here.”

But Cicuto inherits a recruiting situation that could prove difficult. Glendale played 12 games--more than any California junior college--and coaches found little time to recruit during the season. Also, the Vaqueros are allowed to recruit on only the high school campuses of Glendale, Crescenta Valley and Hoover, all teams with losing records this season.

“We’re at a huge disadvantage,” Cicuto said. “But Jim taught me not to worry about things I can’t control.”

The fact that Glendale has a record of 34-8 since 1985 might enhance recruiting efforts, however.

Sartoris’ departure moves linebacker coach Gil Reudaflores to defensive coordinator and assistant Mike Scarpace to offensive coordinator.

“We don’t have a me, my or I philosophy. It’s our and we,” explained Cicuto, adding that the reshuffling of the staff will not change the approach Sartoris took.

Sartoris agrees.

“What we’ve done is a culmination of working together as a staff,” he said. “None of that is going to change.”

But Sartoris added that the team probably will have a different personality under his successor.

“He’s more of a motivational, outgoing, emotional person than me,” Sartoris said of Cicuto. “He can really inspire the kids.”

THROUGH THE YEARS

JIM SARTORIS AT GLENDALE COLLEGE

Year Overall WSC Finish 1972 3-7 1-6 7th 1973 6-4 3-4 4th 1974 1-9 0-7 Last 1975 6-4 4-3 3rd 1976 7-3 5-2 3rd 1977 8-3 6-1 1st 1978 8-3 6-1 1st 1979 5-5 4-3 3rd 1980 4-5-1 4-3-1 4th 1981 6-4 3-3 4th 1982 8-2 5-0 1st 1983 7-3 4-1 1st 1984 6-4 5-2 3rd 1985 10-1 6-1 1st 1986* 10-0 6-0 1st 1987 6-4 5-1 1st 1988 10-2 8-1 1st Total 111-63-1 75-39-1

* Won JC Gridwire national title.

Finish indicates place in WSC standings.