Bee’s Best: Breaking down The Bee’s Coach of the Year candidates as playoffs near
Coaches credit their football success on players and the assistants wearing the headsets. But football is a sport in which the responsibility ultimately rests on the shoulder of the sideline boss.
As the regular season nears the backstretch for regional high school teams in the greater Sacramento region, The Sacramento Bee breaks down Bee Coach of the Year candidates. Playoff success will ultimately decide this race, and a coach not on this list could win the honor with a spirited run to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section finals or beyond.
Marlon Blanton, Jesuit
As classy as they come, Blanton can also get hot under the collar, and he will chew on his players and the referees to be heard. It’s a major credit to Blanton that Jesuit has overcome a rash of injuries to pull off two spirited victories over a Bee-ranked No. 2 team: 20-14 over Rocklin and 28-14 over Oak Ridge to keep the Marauders in the Sierra Foothill League and section Division II championship race.
Joe Cattolico, Granite Bay
A 200-game plus winner, Cattolico has the Grizzlies playing hard, smart and fundamental, and that’s why the Grizzlies are in the SFL and section Division II championship race. One area athletic director described Granite Bay as having two great players in two-way stars Isaiah Ene and Darnell Turner, “and a great, great head coach.”
Josh Parry, Del Oro
A year after fans of Loomis went to social media to regularly hiss and moan about the coaching staff during a wildly uncharacteristic 2-8 season, Parry has been at the forefront of a fierce revival. The Division II Golden Eagles are 4-3 overall and has impressed in defeat with setbacks of 12-8 to then No. 2 Oak Ridge and 14-13 to No. 3 Granite Bay. Parry has pride but no ego in inviting former Del Oro coaches back into the fold to strengthen every bit of the program.
Kyle Stowers, Woodcreek
In his first season as head coach after working previously on the coaching staff, Stowers has the Timberwolves of Roseville rolling at 7-0 with a roster that was hammered by graduation. Woodcreek was not preseason ranked in the top 15 by The Bee at the start of the season but is emerging as a major section Division III title threat.
Justin Reber, Inderkum
In his first year as the Tigers head coach after several as offensive coordinator, Reber has a young team playing well in sporting a 6-1 record, and he has especially been effective in mentoring first-year varsity starting QB star Brody Cole. Division I Inderkum visits Woodcreek on Friday to decide the Capital Valley Conference.
Adam Reinking, Roseville
The Tigers are in the Foothill Valley League race despite a crush of injuries, and they are 6-1 in large part due to coaching leadership. Reinking relies on a simple run game, the wing-T, and players respond to him.
Chris Bean, Twelve Bridges
The Bee’s Coach of the Year last season, Bean had to replace an army of graduated starters who led the way to a CIF State championship game, and here they come again at 7-0. The Raging Rhinos of Placer County have a 27-game regular-season winning streak, and that includes some incredible coaching leadership.
Ryan Reynolds, Sutter
The veteran coach has perhaps his finest team as the Division V Huskies are superbly sound in blocking, tackling and power running. If Sutter beats Casa Roble in Week 10 to decide the Golden Empire League, then the Huskies will be favorites in the section Division V race, and then the coaching fun really begins.
Chris Horner, Casa Roble
The setback during a 6-1 start was to unranked Ponderosa in nonleague play. But the Rams have found a new gear, and if it ultimately includes winning the program’s second Division V section crown in three years, that says a lot about Horner’s leadership and impact.
Warren Schroeder, Liberty Ranch
A good coach of an unsung program for years, Schroeder has led the Hawks of Galt to 7-0 with the time-tested values of power running that includes the team rushing for nearly 400 yards a game. Liberty Ranch plays powerhouse Bradshaw Christian on Friday for the Sierra Valley Conference crown, and a win there makes the Hawks a sudden Division VI section title contender.
Allen Berg, Lincoln
Two years removed from a 1-9 season, the Zebras of Placer County have roared back with a 6-1 start, making them a sudden threat in the section Division V race with Sutter and Casa Roble. It’s a tribute to Berg that so many players returned from last season to make this program go again in an era of transferring out.
Paul Doherty, Folsom
Yeah, yeah. He’s got all the talent in the world, and the top-ranked team in the section for a good long stretch now should be a title contender. But Doherty has pushed all the right buttons, including the team’s strength and conditioning program, and he gets everyone involved. He also lets his coaches coach. If Folsom wins a fifth consecutive section Division I championship and NorCal and CIF State crowns, that run will speak volumes of the head coach.
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.