VALLEY ROUNDUP : Blackburn Resigns After 4 Seasons as Alemany Football Coach

Alemany High football Coach Pat Blackburn resigned Monday after admitting that he was disappointed with the results of his four seasons at the parochial school in Mission Hills.

Alemany, ranked fifth in the Southern Section Division III preseason poll, finished 6-4 overall and failed to land a berth in the playoffs. In four seasons, Blackburn’s teams compiled a mark of 20-20.

This season, Alemany finished in a tie for third with St. Paul and Bishop Montgomery at 3-3 in Mission League play and lost a three-way coin flip that decided the league’s third-place playoff entry. Alemany was passed over for an at-large berth.

“I had high hopes, definitely,” Blackburn said. “I wasn’t able to reach them.”

It marked the second time a coach has left Alemany in the past five seasons. Enrique Lopez, now an assistant at Canyon, was replaced by Blackburn after the 1987 season. Lopez also left after four years.

“I was given four years,” Blackburn said. “That’s ample time, but we just weren’t able to do as well as I had hoped.”

Blackburn, 35, on Monday met with Father Robert Milbauer, Alemany’s principal, to discuss his future at the school. Blackburn agreed to step down as coach, although he will remain as a physical education teacher. Blackburn coached at Montclair Prep for two seasons before moving to Alemany.

Dudley Rooney, Alemany’s athletic director, said the school probably will begin interviewing applicants after the holiday break.