Football: Steve Bogan makes the jump to Maranatha

Private schools have been raiding public schools of some of their best coaches, and the latest to make the jump is Steve Bogan, the former West Covina South Hills football coach who has taken over as head coach at Pasadena Maranatha.

Bogan spent 20 years as head coach at South Hills. He coached freshman ball last season and still teaches at South Hills, but he decided to make the leap of faith to Maranatha. He started out coaching at St. Francis many years ago but still enjoys being a teacher at South Hills.

“I love that place. It’s my home,” he said of South Hills.

He’s expected to make an impact at Maranatha, which returns its outstanding quarterback in Eli Snyder.

“He’s a special kid,” Bogan said. “He’s a football junkie. He likes to study the game.”

Maranatha also hired a former public school basketball coach, Tim Tucker, from Pasadena last year. He still teaches at Pasadena while coaching at Maranatha.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer