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Warren lends legacy to Raiders
By Phillip Brents
Posted Sept. 10, 2002
Gil Warren may not be out to intentionally add to his personal legend but might end up doing so anyway.
Warren compiled a 155-41-4 record in 19 years at Castle Park High, winning nine league titles and San Diego Section division titles in 1968, 1994 and 1996. He and his veteran staff take over a program at Southwest High that has gone winless at the varsity level for 38 games — a section record.
“The challenge of starting a new program convinced me to come here. The kids deserve something better than that,” said Warren, who emerged from three years of retirement to resuscitate the Raiders’ program. “There were great kids here who played their entire career and who never won a game. Tony Crenshaw (a 2002 Southwest graduate) was a fine player and a fine student. In four years, he never won a game.”
Warren believes he can bring something better to the Raider program — something that amounts to more than just one win — before he finally retires from his teaching position.
It begins with a new attitude.
“The first thing I put up was a picture of the stadium. That might seem a bit bold but we told them, ‘Don’t underestimate yourself.’ The goal is not to just win a game but to instill a vision. The attitude has been great. The kids are excited,” Warren said.
Warren has, understandably, not tackled this undertaking alone. His handpicked staff includes some of the best football minds around at both the high school and collegiate levels. Former Castle Park head coach Jorge Mancillas (most recently an assistant at Eastlake High) is the team’s offensive coordinator. Former Sweetwater High coach Dave Lay, whose Red Devil teams made two CIF title game appearances and won one championship (in 1972), is defensive coordinator. The Southwest staff boasts another Castle Park connection in Dick Oliver, who serves as the Raiders’ special teams and linebackers coach. Given their collective years of experience, the veteran coaching crew has endearingly earned the nickname of “the Space Cowboys.”
“I know what I’m getting here,” Warren said.
In the span of just a few months (Warren was hired as a teacher on campus in February),
Southwest’s newest head coach feels a move forward has already started. Warren said support from the school’s administration has been more than accommodating and is self-motivating.
“It makes you want to work hard that much more,” he said.
Warren remains optimistic about the foundation of what he and his staff have managed to essentially build from scratch. (The team will run the same offense that Warren employed at Castle Park.)
“There’s some talent here. We’ll be able to compete. I don’t expect us to be 0-10. I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” he said. “We feel we will be in every game.”
Warren said the focus in the program is playing sound offense and sound defense. Southwest will have to do that if it is to turnaround a negative 40-8 scoring differential in compiling its section record losing streak. (The state record for consecutive losses is 48, set by Moorpark from 1972-1982.)
The Space Cowboys got their first real look at the team in game situations in last Friday’s scrimmage at Valley Center High. Warren said he went in looking for positives and came away with them. “We made some mistakes but we hung with them. It was hard to tell who would have won if it had been an actual game. We weren’t dominated. I wanted something positive to come out of it. We got it,” he said.
Warren gave high marks to returners Josh Lururiaga (center), Danny Coleman (linebacker), Dominick Young (fullback-linebacker) and Robert Tucker (defensive back-running back) for their performances in last Friday’s scrimmage. Wide receiver LaMar Thomas and wing back DeAndre Hickson were two other players who Warren indicated he was looking at as contributors to this year’s team.