Vote now: Who should be SBLive’s California High School Football Coach of the Week (9/12/2023)?

Here are the candidates for SBLive’s California High School Coach of the Week for Sep. 7-9 as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff. Read through the nominees and cast your vote below. Voting will conclude on Sunday, Sep. 17 at 11:59 p.m and the winner will be announced on Monday. If you would like to nominate a coach in future weeks, please email Lance@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveCA.

Justin Alumbaugh, De La Salle: The 11th-year coach of the national juggernaut got the Spartans off the proverbial schneid, winning their first game of the 2023 season with a 35-17 win at Saint Francis. The game was particularly significant and personal for the Spartans, who had its remarkable 318-game unbeaten streak against Northern California opponents snapped two years ago on the same field. De La Salle outscored the Lancers 21-3 in the second half to win going away.

David Wiltz, Dymally: Wiltz, the Challengers' fourth-year head coach, has his team at 4-0 for the second time in the last three seasons after crushing South Gate 62-0. Before Wiltz, Dymally (founded in 2012) had an all-time record of 5-31, and was most recently playing eight-man football. Under Wiltz, Dymally is 24-5, and in the midst of its strongest season yet.

LaRon Johnson, La Puente: To bounce back from a 21-13 loss against The Webb Schools, La Puente moved to 3-1 with a 38-14 rout of Mendez. With the win, the Warriors already have as many wins as they've recorded in any of the last five seasons under the second-year head coach.

Mike Jacot, Clovis North: The fifth-year coach has the Broncos off to a 4-0 start and new No. 1 ranking in the Top 15 Central Section ranking following a 48-14 win at previous No. 8 Central Valley Christian. Jackson Cinfel (22 carries, 229 yards) and McKay Madsen (6, 113) each rushed for three touchdowns.

Nick Baiz, Etiwanda: With a 34-7 rinsing of Jurupa Hills, Etiwanda has its second 4-0 start in Baiz's three years with the team. Washington-bound quarterback Dermaricus Davis completed 19 of 24 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns before sitting the fourth quarter.

Tim Garcia, Ventura: Now entering his second decade as Ventura's head coach, Garcia has the team at 3-1 (2-0 in Channel League play) after a 17-14 upset of Rio Mesa. Defensive end Jackson Reed led Ventura's defense with three sacks against the Spartans. In four games against Rio Mesa, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, and Camarillo, the Cougars have only allowed 38 points.

Johnny Millard, Monte Vista (Danville): The second-year coach and son of 1989 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Keith Millard, has the Mustangs off to a 3-0 start following a 40-30 home win over Bellarmine. Millard appears to have the Mustangs, one of the Bay Area's top programs, on the right track following seasons of 0-6 (spring of 2021) and 2-8 (in 2022). The Mustangs have outscored opponents 132-41.

Norris Milton, Hamilton (Los Angeles): Hamilton pulled the upset of the week in the L.A. City Section, a 29-21 victory over previously-unbeaten Cleveland to put the Western League on notice. Receiver/safety Kory Hall accounted for all of Hamilton's receiving production with nine catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns, returned a kick 40 yards, made seven tackles, and forced a fumble.

Carl Reed, Grant Union: The third-year coach has the Pacers back to their powerhouse days of former coach Mike Alberghini following a fantastic 22-21 win at Central Coast Section powerhouse Los Gatos on Friday. The game, scheduled just last week, and Grant dominated most of the way with a 432-230 edge, controlling the ball with more than double the plays. But the Pacers fought back from a 14-0 deficit and won it on a 3-yard TD run by Leon Martin who had 35 carries for 1190 yards filling in for injured star back Wayshawn Parker. Grant, the defending state 3-AA champions, improved to 3-1.

Greg Tate, Mission Bay: Tate has his Buccaneers off to a 4-0 for the second season in a row following a 35-14 win against Sweetwater. Mission Bay has outscored its 132-54, thanks in part to 599 passing yards, 150 rushing yards, and 14 total touchdowns from quarterback Charlie Hutchison.

John Lester, Laguna Hills: Not many high school football teams will ever experience a 12-game winning streak. Especially entering Week Four. But the reigning CIFSS D7 and State 3-A champions have won a dozen straight for their third-year head coach after moving to 4-0 with a 41-21 win over Beckman.

Casey Taylor, Oak Ridge: The third-year coach at Oak Ridge after winning a state title at Del Oro-Loomis improved to 4-0 with a very impressive 28-0 win over North Coast Section power Clayton Valley Charter. Nominated for the second consecutive week, Taylor and staff devised a terrific defensive plan to record the shutout. The masterpiece was finished off with a 35-yard pick 6 by Jason Womack.

Brandon Rohrer, Glendora: After a rebuilding year in 2022 that saw them go 4-7, the Tartans are officially back. With last week's 49-7 demolition of Pacifica (Garden Grove), Glendora started the season 4-0 for the third time in Rohrer's six seasons as head coach. Eric Najarro completed 17 of 23 passes for 292 yards and six TDs, against Pacifica, with more than half of Glendora's aerial production being caught by Timothy Johnson.

Kyle Williams, Poway: For the third straight season, Poway picked a narrow non-league victory over Ramona (Ramona), which was considered the light favorite by many this year. With the win, the Titans moved to 3-1, and are 3-0 against former league foe Ramona in Williams' tenure as their head coach. Poway also won the matchup in a close game in 2019, the last season before Williams took over, which was preceded by back-to-back Ramona victories in the matchup.

Mark Nolan, Trabuco Hills: After starting 3-0 last year for the first time in Nolan's four seasons as head coach, Trabuco Hills started 3-0 again with a 16-8 win at Irvine on Friday. Running back Taylor Bowie and receiver Ryan Luce are both averaging over 100 yards of offense per game for the Mustangs.