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High Desert football leaders vie for Los Angeles Rams High School Coach of the Year

rene ray de la cruz, victorville daily press
·2 min read

Two High Desert high school football coaches are vying for the Los Angeles Rams High School Coach of the Year crown.

After the first round of voting, the top 20 candidates include Barstow High School coach Clayton Leleimene and Hesperia High School coach Casey Goodnough.

After four rounds of voting, the Rams will award the top coach $3,000 for their football program, with an additional $3,000 donated from partners Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions, Rams officials stated.

Barstow High School’s Clayton Leleimene is one of two High Desert football coaches vying for the Los Angeles Rams High School Coach of the Year crown.
Barstow High School’s Clayton Leleimene is one of two High Desert football coaches vying for the Los Angeles Rams High School Coach of the Year crown.

Aztecs and Scorpions

Despite both coaches' teams losing in the first round of the CIF playoffs, the squads finished with impressive seasons.

The Hesperia High Scorpions finished second place in the Mojave River League standings. They beat Apple Valley 15-14 in an upset victory last month.

Hesperia then lost to Apple Valley 35-32 on Nov. 3, in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.

Scorpion Da’lon Williams had a breakout year, running for 2,045 yards as a sophomore.

The Barstow High Aztecs finished second in the Desert Sky League standings, but lost 42-21 to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 8 playoffs.

On Oct. 5, Barstow snapped a three-game losing streak in the 100th annual rivalry Axe Game against Victor Valley with a 49-14 victory at Ray Moore Stadium in Victorville.

Barstow Unified School District officials took to Facebook asking fans to vote for Leleimene, the man “who led our Aztecs to victory over Victor Valley and returned The Axe to where it belongs.”

Hesperia High School’s Casey Goodnough is one of two High Desert football coaches vying for the Los Angeles Rams High School Coach of the Year crown.
Hesperia High School’s Casey Goodnough is one of two High Desert football coaches vying for the Los Angeles Rams High School Coach of the Year crown.

Voting

During Phase 2 of voting, the pool of candidates will decrease to 10. Phase 2 voting ends on Nov. 17 and Phase 3 ends on Dec. 1.

During Phase 4, online voting will close on Dec. 15 and the pool will decrease to three finalists.

The coach of the year will be announced on Dec. 17 during pre-game festivities at SoFi Stadium, where the Rams will host the Washington Commanders.

To cast votes, see the list of finalists and for more information, visit therams.com/community/coach-of-the-week.

Reporter Jose Quintero contributed to this story.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: High Desert coaches in running for LA Rams High School Coach of the Year