Santa Margarita Football Coach to Retire

By Martin Henderson

Santa Margarita Catholic High football coach Harry Welch, whose teams have won three California State Bowl Championships since 2006, will retire at the end of the upcoming season, the school announced Monday. 

The 2013 season will be Welch's fourth with Santa Margarita. He took over a program coming off a 3-7 season and went 9-3 his first year, won the Southern Section Pac-5 title and California Bowl championship his second season, and was ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time quarterback Johnny Stanton was lost for the year with a knee injury in his third season. 

Despite the loss of Stanton before the Trinity League began, Santa Margarita still finished third in league and reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to top-seeded Ventura St. Bonaventure in overtime, 27-21. Stanton's season-ending knee injury had come in a victory over St. Bonaventure, its only loss of the year heading into the playoffs. 

In the first round of the Pac-5 playoffs, Santa Margarita defeated El Toro, 38-13. It was one of only two losses suffered by the Chargers, who had reached the Southwest Division title game a year earlier.

Welch enters the 2013 season with a 31-8 record with Santa Margarita, and a 252-55-2 lifetime mark, 10th amongst active California high school football coaches.

Santa Margarita will play nonleague games against La Puente Bishop Amat, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, L.A. Dorsey, Carson and Trabuco Hills before tackling the Trinity League gauntlet of St. John Bosco, Servite, Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and JSerra.

The retirement of Welch is likely to spark the interest of several Orange County coaches as the school seeks a replacement who can keep the team competitive in the Trinity League, annually regarded as one of the toughest football leagues in the nation. 

TELL US IN THE COMMENTS: What do you think will be the fallout of Welch's retirement at Santa Margarita?