Van Nuys High School is 109 years old, with the likes of Don Drysdale, Robert Redford, Bob Waterfield and Marilyn Monroe among the famous alumni. Its football program has been pretty much struggling for years, going 2-8 in 2022 and 0-9 in 2021.
Ken Osorio, a Van Nuys grad, took over as coach last year and welcomed the opportunity to teach the many players with no experience who came out for the team. One of those was Carlos Herrera, who joined the junior varsity team in 2022 when Osorio was coach. He was a soccer player who didn’t know how to put on shoulder pads and said it was “nerve-racking” putting on a helmet for the first time.
Fast-forward to Saturday. Van Nuys (8-5) will be playing Panorama in the City Section Division III championship game with Herrera serving as the Wolves’ standout quarterback. Herrera has passed for 21 touchdowns and run for 10.
Van Nuys picked up another soccer player who has made major contributions. Leelen Castro, at 5 feet 5, 140 pounds, is six for six on field goals. See what happens when a coach teaches fundamentals and gets students from other sports to buy in? …
St. John Bosco football center Matthew Perdue is one of the smartest players on any field. He has a 4.3 grade-point average and is considering San Diego, John Hopkins and Amherst among his college choices. …
Ernest Nunley of Narbonne is a junior defensive back who won’t turn 17 until next August. He entered high school when he was 13. He’s been playing against some 19-year-olds and showing no fear. …
Trevor McSween of Serrano carried the ball 46 times for 301 yards against Hemet on Nov. 15 and insisted he wasn’t hurting afterward, so who knows how many times he might get the ball Friday night in the Southern Section Division 8 final against St. Pius X-St. Matthias. …
Koen Glover of St. Bonaventure has had quite a two-year run playing running back. Last season he rushed for 1,189 yards and 15 touchdowns. This season he has rushed for 2,023 yards and 26 touchdowns. He credits better strength for his improvement with no injuries. St. Bonaventure plays Oxnard Pacifica on Saturday for the Southern Section Division 4 championship at Rio Mesa. …
Here’s the complete weekend championship football schedule for City Section and Southern Section.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.