Trabuco Hills Hires Champion Football Coach

By Martin Henderson

Tony Henney, who won two Southern Section championships the past two seasons coaching at Nordhoff High in Ojai, was approved as the new coach at Trabuco Hills High School on Tuesday. 

Henney was the choice to replace Scott Orloff, who was fired from his coaching position at the end of the 2013 season; despite being among the top-ranked teams in Orange County, the Mustangs were 6-4 overall but failed to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year under Orloff. 

Henney, chosen the 2013 Southern Section Caoch of the Year by the California Coaches Association, led his alma mater—essentially, a Division X program—to back-to-back Northwest Division championships. 

Henney's Rangers was beaten by Corona del Mar, 24-8, in the Southern California Regional in the Division III Bowl tournament. 

In moving to Trabuco Hills, Henney is almost guaranteed success. The Mustangs are moving from the Pac-5 Division's South Coast League—where they were competitive—to the Sea View League, where they are likely to be the favorite to win the title. Trabuco will compete in the same division as Corona del Mar, which has won three consecutive Southern Division championships. 

Henney completed his sixth season at Nordhoff where his teams went 58-17; curiously, both years he won section titles his team finished second in the Tri-Valley League. The Rangers were 13-2 in 2013.

Henney doubled as the athletic director at Nordhoff, which has an enrollment of fewer than 900 students. His team GPA last season (3.0) was higher than yards allowed per rush (2.8); his team's defense surrendered just 11.9 points per game.

A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Henney taught social studies.

He will be formally introduced to players today.

Henney was chosen by a committee that included Principal Craig Collins, assistant principal Amanda Bentley, athletic director Kurt Walker and teacher/coach Randy Brouwer.