Karavedas is out, Oliva is in at Maranatha football

Family opportunities were behind the somewhat shocking same-day departure and hiring of a head football coach at Maranatha High on Friday.

Stating family necessities as his reason for leaving, Maranatha Coach Pete Karavedas announced that he left the Minutemen program after two seasons to pursue a full-time teaching position and an assistant head coaching job at Fullerton Sunny Hills High.

Karavedas will be replaced by former San Gabriel High Coach Jude Oliva, who was hired Feb. 22 to take over as offensive coordinator at Maranatha, and who also declared that his accepting of the barely vacant position was also in the best interest of his family.

“The common thread with Peter and Jude is, as corny as this may sound, they’re both character guys,” Maranatha High Athletic Director Brian DeHaan said. “I wish Peter the best going forward and completely understand that he had to do what’s best for his family.

“As for Jude, I’ve got to know him and he’s a real character guy. Plus, it’s nice to already have a head coach on staff in Jude.”

Maranatha finished 11-10 under the two-year tenure of Karavedas and reached the postseason in 2011.

Karavedas was originally hired at Maranatha in February of 2011 after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at La Habra Whittier Christian.

In his first year two years at Whittier Christian, Karavedas served under head coach Jon Caffrey, who is the current coach and co-athletic director at Sunny Hills.

“I want to make something really clear and that’s that I wasn’t looking around for a job and I wasn’t looking to leave Maranatha. I was looking forward to the 2013 season,” Karavedas said. “But Jon gave me a call a little while ago and presented me with an opportunity and it’s something I couldn’t pass up.”

That opportunity was to become the associate head coach for the football team and assistant athletic director with perhaps the biggest perk coming in a full-time social studies teaching position at the school.

“This is a real bittersweet decision for me as I was growing fond of coaching this senior class,” said Karavedas, who is a current AP Government, Macroeconomics and World History teacher at Maranatha.

“However, it just makes sense in terms of salary and more importantly, time. I live in the Whittier area and when I started counting hours, taking this job just gives me a lot more time at home.”

Karavedas, who welcomed a daughter in early November, is being replaced by a family man in Oliva, who also added a recent addition.

“Coming to Maranatha is about stability and this job offers me a chance to spend time with my family and stay nearby,” said Oliva, a San Gabriel resident. “I had my first child six weeks ago and I love this community.”

Oliva was known for his offensive prowess and wide open offense at San Gabriel as his squads were 17-17 in three seasons with a memorable 9-5 campaign in 2011 that included an Almont League championship and advancement to the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division championship game.

The Matadors did lose that game to powerhouse Monrovia, 53-14.

When asked about what he’d be bringing to Maranatha, Oliva offered a few ideas.

“First, I want this to be a character team,” Oliva said. “That’s what I appreciate about this school and that’s what I’m going to expect.

“I’m also going to expect us to be a physical, smash-mouth team that’s going to win football games.”