LA CANADA – Tuesday afternoon was one of those days that everyone dreads if you are a football player or coach. To put it bluntly, it was hot. Temperatures were running in the low to mid-90s and if had to wear football equipment, it made it downright miserable to be on a football field. On days like this, your passion for the sport gets tested every day.  

It’s easy to practice hard when it’s late November and the team that you’re playing for is in a deep playoff run and grabbing the headlines. It’s another thing when it’s August, the position group that you are slotted for continues to make mistakes and you are forced to do extra conditioning with a coach reminding you of discipline.  

But on this late afternoon at St. Francis High School, the players didn’t mention the three-letter word that begins with the letter H. It was the final day of “two-a-days" in which practices occurred in the morning and the afternoon. On this day, it was a “defense” day, which meant that defensive coordinator Mark Gibbons (who has been at St. Francis for nearly three decades) was running practice.  

It meant players were going through a tackling circuit, doing some 7-on-7 football, some 11-on-11 team period (in preparation for their scrimmage on Thursday vs Quartz Hill), and mixing in some special teams period with Ted Corcoran. That also meant that for head coach Dean Herrington, he could spend some time in the office attending to duties that landed on his desk.  

For a coach that can be called a “coaching lifer,” Herrington is still living the dream these days. He’s at a school that has a culture already embedded in place. He doesn’t have to create attention to the media – it comes naturally. He can focus his attention on football. When I asked him if he still has to pinch himself to believe that he is at St. Francis, he still shakes his head when he answers the question.  

“Of course,” Herrington said of taking over for the late Jim Bonds, who passes away in 2020 from Cancer. “I wish Jimmy was still here. I know that he is watching over us and cheering with the best seat in the house. 2021 was tough, but I feel much more comfortable this season.”  

It’s easy to understand his thought process. After he was hired in 2021, things were happening at a pace that could only be described as “Supersonic.” Strength training was reduced from a full season to four months because of an adjusted preps schedule due to COVID. The starts and stops of training because of COVID positives. Trying to implement his run-and-shoot offensive in a reduced time frame.  

Through it all, the Golden Knights persevered and advanced to the Division 4 championship game before losing to perennial football power Long Beach State. Asked if that loss remains fresh, Herrington nods in the affirmative with the thought of “if we had executed that fake field goal and scored, it would have been a one touchdown game and it’s a different game.”  

Time heals old wounds and for anyone that is connected with St. Francis football, you can feel the excitement of a full offseason with Herrington and his staff. Student-athletes trained without the specter of COVID testing. Herrington was allowed to install the full breadth of his offensive system and help polish the throwing techniques of his highly regarded senior quarterback Jack Jacobs.  

“This is the type of offseason that I am used to,” Herrington said, who also served as a longtime assistant coach at Hart High School with his brother and Rick and Mike Herrington. “We’ve installed everything, and the kids have done a great job executing it.”  

It also helps to get a transfer that is a game changer in Deyvn Turner from Allen HS in Texas and his cousin Drushun Phillips from Georgia. When I asked Herrington about Turner, the normally calm Herrington snapped his head to me, narrowed his eyes (making sure that I understood what he was about to say), and commented, “He’s the best running back I’ve ever had a chance to work with.”  

Those are powerful words from someone who worked with Max Garrison last year. As if Herrington needed any more evidence on how good Turner was, the senior popped off a 70+ yard run in Thursday night’s scrimmage.  

As for Jacobs, he also looked sharp as well Thursday night. Not only does he understand Herrington’s offensive system, but he also understands the pass protection scheme and makes the necessary adjustments at the line of scrimmage. That’s important because Jacobs has two of the top underclass linemen in Philip Ocon and Racin Delgatty.  

“I feel so much better this year,” Jacobs said. He has a goal of throwing for 3500 yards, but he also has another goal. “I just want to win games this year.”  

This was my first stop after spending time away from the valley and every time I depart a St. Francis practice, it is a great reminder of why football is a great sport. When you have coaches that invest time in their players, push them to the limit without using any swear words and teach them the proper techniques of the game, you have something special going on.  

St. Francis is not the only school where this type of “growth” coaching is taking place. It's also happening at Bishop Amat, La Serna, Glendora, Bonita, West Covina, and other programs. It is why football remains the most popular sport in the United States.  

One last point: If you are a parent that is on the border of letting your son play football, understand that the game has never been safer. Having spent time watching football at higher levels the past couple of weeks, player safety is not just a talking point, it’s a reality. Technology has been used extensively to make sure that helmets and shoulder pads are up to extremely high standards.  

“Club Football will never replace Friday Night Football,” Herrington said. “It’s a joke to think that it would replace high school football. The sport is safer now than ever before and players learn lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”  

The end of practice presented a scene that Norman Rockwell would have appreciated. Players were drenched in sweat while on a knee listening to Herrington deliver program news. Coaches were standing in the background, ready to sprint over to their cars so that could go home and get some much-needed sleep. All this occurred while the sun was setting, and the orange burnt colors were reflecting off the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.  

It was as if the football gods were reminding everyone that there is no better place to take in a high school football game in the west San Gabriel Valley than at St. Francis HS