Gibson Has Orange Glowing

Orange High Athletic Director Ed Howard has a running bet with his coaching staff. If any one of them can entice Greg Gibson to talk for more than five minutes about something other than the school’s football program, he can take half of Howard’s salary for the week.

Howard attempted to do so when he interviewed Gibson for the football coaching job in February 2001. Two hours later, they were still discussing weight rooms, blocking sleds and offensive formations.

“I tried to get him to talk about something other than football and I couldn’t do it,” Howard said. “I couldn’t get him off track.”

Howard said the initial conversation was a preview of the focus and dedication Gibson has brought to the program.

Beginning his third season, Gibson has lifted the Panthers from the wallows of Orange County football to a No. 5 ranking in this week’s Southern Section Division VII poll.

Orange had a 1-29 record in the three seasons before Gibson was selected from among 17 others.

In the years before Gibson, 37, arrived, the best football players in Orange’s attendance area typically took advantage of the district’s open-enrollment policy and enrolled as freshmen at Villa Park and Orange El Modena.

“When I got here, Orange had just been pillaged by open-enrollment transfers,” he said.

Gibson said he was impressed with the attitude of the players he inherited his first year, but they knew nothing of the sacrifices necessary to build a winning program. Weights were rarely lifted, grades were hardly monitored and practices were often ignored.

“They were poorly coached and poorly prepared for games,” Gibson said. “They were going into games with one arm tied behind their backs.”

In Gibson’s first season, the Panthers won only two games, but weekly classroom progress reports were a sign that change was under way.

The school renovated its weight room and Gibson instituted an off-season weight training program.

The improvements, combined with a move last season from the Century League to the Golden West League, helped the Panthers finish 8-3 and reach the Southern Section playoffs for the first time since 1992.

Though the Panthers lost their best player, running back Durrell Moss, who is now at Washington, they opened the season with a 49-17 victory over Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos, which had defeated Orange by 10 points last season. With a victory tonight against Fullerton Sunny Hills (1-0) at El Modena High, the Panthers can give Gibson a winning record (12-11) at Orange.

“I think I would be in a select company of coaches,” Gibson joked.

Before coming to Orange, Gibson spent two years as offensive coordinator at Long Beach Jordan. He was head coach at Long Beach Wilson in 1997-98, guiding the Bruins to the playoffs his final season. Gibson played football at Huntington Beach Edison, Orange Coast College and Long Beach State. Howard is confident he made the right decision in hiring Gibson, and not just because the Panthers are winning.

“Coach Gibson has a lot to do with the latest round of success,” Howard said. “He’s a tireless worker, a great football strategist and has a vision that all the kids buy into.”

*

La Quinta Coach Dan Armstrong is spending considerable time practicing the basics this week. No, not blocking and tackling, but running the field goal unit onto the field.

La Quinta lost to Moreno Valley Valley View, 13-12, Friday when an apparent go-ahead, 29-yard field goal in the game’s final minute was nullified because the Blackhawks had too many players on the field. The second attempt, from 34 yards, sailed wide right.

The Blackhawks, who lost six fumbles, also missed an earlier point-after attempt after being penalized for having too many players on the field.

“As coaches, we make the mistake of assuming the players know so much, and they don’t know anything,” Armstrong said. “We have to coach everything. We have to show them how to put their uniforms on.”

Armstrong is hoping the extra work will pay off.

La Quinta plays Friday night at Murrieta Valley, a team that last season ended the Blackhawks’ 30-game unbeaten streak.

“They’re a really solid football team,” Armstrong said. “I keep looking for chinks in their armor and I don’t see any.”

*

Officials at Victorville Silverado have decided to give up home-field advantage and play at San Bernardino Arroyo Valley on Friday because of the condition of the field at Victorville Victor Valley.

Silverado played at Victor Valley last Friday and lost to Phelan Serrano, 23-7. School officials complained about the lack of grass on the playing field, which caused quite a bit of dust to be kicked up during the game.

They also said there were several uneven spots on the field, which may have contributed to a handful of knee and ankle injuries. Serrano running back Devin Blakely was among the players who left the game because of a sprained ankle.

Greg Lundeen, an assistant superintendent for the Victor Valley Unified School District, said budget cuts have prevented proper maintenance of the field, which has an outdated irrigation system. There is no money for a new system, but he said that through hand watering and raking, the field should be ready for games next week.