It’s No Sin to Win

There was a time, fresh in Jesse Gomez’s memory, when Santa Ana High had a strong football program. There was a sense of tradition, and a chance to win whenever the Saints stepped on the field.

Gomez graduated from Santa Ana in 1991, went on to play center for Santa Ana College and was a long snapper for USC, playing in the Trojans’ 1996 Rose Bowl victory over Northwestern.

But his high school alma mater fell on hard times, most notably a 30-game losing streak from 1995 to 1998.

Now Gomez, 26, is Santa Ana’s interim coach, hired just a few weeks before the season began after Mark Miller left to become an assistant on Bob Johnson’s staff at Mission Viejo. Gomez is trying to take the Saints back in time.

He’s off to a nice start.

Santa Ana is 5-3 (1-1 in the Golden West League), the most victories it has had since 1991 when it won the Sunset League title and last appeared in the playoffs.

“Wins and losses are great, but what’s important in the program is we develop good moral character in the kids and they become the best students they can be,” said Gomez, who teaches sophomore science and anatomy and physiology at Santa Ana. “I’m sure [administrators] will evaluate that. I’d love to be the head coach and remove the interim tag.

“This is where I played in high school, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather coach.”

Athletic Director Frank Alvarado has been pleased with the results. “It has been a real tribute to his drive and motivation to get it done,” Alvarado said. “He comes from a terrific football lineage, Dick Hill here, Dave Ogas at Santa Ana College and John Robinson at USC, so from a football aspect, I had no qualms about him.

“My concerns were with peripheral issues--the lower levels, assistant coaches, boosters--and he’s done a terrific job.”

Among the changes Gomez made was to combine the varsity and junior varsity teams in practice so the younger players could learn from the older ones. “I’d hate to have one great year,” Gomez said, “and then go back to a 2-8 season.”

Gomez and the six coaches left from Miller’s staff have reworked the Saints’ attitude.

Junior linemen Angel Montes and Jesus Ramirez have played well and provided inspiration by playing through nagging injuries.

“When I came back to the school last year [as an assistant], I reminded [the players] of what football was like when I was in school,” Gomez said. “We were rated highly in the county. We were playing against Mater Dei and Esperanza. We were in the playoffs. That’s what was expected of us.”

Until the ‘90s, that is. Before this season, the Saints were 16-75 this decade, including a 5-6 mark in 1991, their best season.

But in the 1980s, the Saints were 83-46-1 and reached the second round of the playoffs six times, including 1985, when they won a section title. They won eight games or more seven times.

Those are the days Gomez remembers, when Hill was compiling many of his county-record 212 coaching victories (224, including his first year at Downey in 1956).

Gomez replaced Miller, who left late in the summer for a teaching and coaching position at Mission Viejo, where his son is a student. Gomez was hired July 26. He got married on Aug. 7, returned from his honeymoon on Aug. 16 and told his new wife she would be a football widow until November. Practice started the next day.

“We haven’t gotten too complicated with the kids,” said Gomez, who coached the linemen last year and was an offensive line coach at Santa Ana College for three seasons before that.

“We’re playing the same defensive scheme they had before. Offensively, we tell them we have the advantage: ‘You know what you’re going to do, you know the snap count and where the ball is going. And you have to play as hard as you can.’

“It sounds like it’s too simple, doesn’t it?”

It has certainly paid off. For example, Santa Ana lost seven consecutive years to Saddleback, only once by fewer than 28 points. Last week, the Saints defeated the Roadrunners, 21-16.

“[Gomez] told us to do our assignments, everyone else will do theirs, and everything will come through,” said senior tailback Ray Flores. “We’ve got something to play for now. Last year, we were thinking maybe we could be better this week than last week. But now, we’re playing for a league championship and to advance to the next level.”

To win its league, Santa Ana will need another strong defensive effort against ninth-ranked Tustin tonight. Defense has been the major reason for the Saints’ turnaround, with strong efforts from junior linebacker Frostee Rucker and senior defensive back Elliot Powell, who has four interceptions.

“This team has crossed a lot of bridges,” Gomez said. “They’re finding that they have all the qualities and character to find a way to win these days. They’re not finding ways to lose, they’re finding ways to win.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Featured Game

SANTA ANA VS. TUSTIN

When: 7 tonight

Where: Tustin High

Records: Santa Ana 5-3, 1-1; Tustin 5-3, 2-0.

Rankings: Tustin is No. 9 in the Orange County sportswriters’ poll and No. 4 in the Southern Section Division VI rankings; Santa Ana is unranked.

Noteworthy: Santa Ana hasn’t made the playoffs since 1991, and a victory here would go a long way toward ending that drought. Tustin, meanwhile, can assure itself of a fourth consecutive playoff appearance, coinciding with the arrival of Coach Myron Miller, who is 32-12-1 since taking over. In the last three weeks, Santa Ana has attempted only seven passes--five of those in a 21-16 victory over Saddleback last week.