LC Coach Wheeler Will Take Season One Game at a Time

Veteran La Cañada High Coach Rich Wheeler led the Spartans to one of their greatest comebacks in the history of the school last year as they went from 1-4 in the preseason to finish 4-1 in Rio Hondo League and capture a share of the league title.

Wheeler, who is entering his ninth season as the head varsity coach, would like to see his Spartans repeat as league champs this year. "We're doing OK so far in summer practice. I'm feeling cautious optimism. Some say we're the team to beat in the Rio Hondo League. That's nice, but I'm no fool. We're going to take this season one game at a time," said Wheeler.

For, Wheeler, the season is really broken into three distinct seasons - preseason, league and post season - and all require their own particular preparation.

"This year, I want the team to leave the field after each game with no regrets. I want them to do some things this year that they haven't done for awhile. We'll be in the hunt (for a league title), so we'll just have to see what the team can do," the coach said.

With his overall record of 47-41-2, Wheeler has more victories and more losses than any other varsity football coach at LCHS. He has taken the Spartans to the CIF playoffs more times (six) than any other coach and he has won the league title twice (an honor which he shares with a previous head coach, Marty McWhinney, who is also the only Spartans' varsity football coach to win a CIF title).

Wheeler stands poised to lead the Spartans to another milestone this season. If La Cañada wins seven games, that will give the varsity football program its 200th victory since the school opened in 1963.

While the team lost some of its offense to graduation last June, including quarterback Tom Michael and wide receivers John Young, Chris Walters, Matt Motia, Patrick Gallagher and Donny Kerchof, most of the line is coming back and several junior varsity players have stepped up to fill in the gaps, Wheeler said.

There are still some question marks, particularly at the quarterback position. "We don't know yet who is going to be our starting quarterback and probably won't know until the season starts," Wheeler said. The top candidate for the job appears to be senior T.J. Trumbo who was a backup for Michael last year and played an outstanding defensive back.