Los Alamitos High tabs Rory Schoonmaker new football coach

After six years under former coach Ray Fenton, who left for Orange Lutheran, Los Alamitos will enter a new era under Rory Schoonmaker.

Rory Schoonmaker is the new head football coach at Los Alamitos High. | Los Alamitos Athletics

Rory Schoonmaker must be a great interview because he'll be at the helm of a third high school football program in the last four years — each stop arguably better than the other — and the most recent being his best post yet.

Los Alamitos tabbed Schoonmaker its new head football coach Tuesday afternoon after seeing former coach Ray Fenton leave for Orange Lutheran this offseason after six seasons, which ended in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 title this past fall.

Schoonmaker is a Huntington Beach native with almost 20 years of coaching experience. He was the head coach at Santa Ana High (2023) before taking the job at El Segundo where he's been the last two seasons. Schoonmaker led Santa Ana to a 7-4 campaign in 2023 before going 6-5 and 8-3 at El Segundo, respectively.

Schoonmaker has not missed the postseason in the last three years, but is still searching for his first playoff win as a head coach. As an assistant, Schoonmaker has been a part of a number of successful programs.

"His teams have won 7 league championships, reached the playoffs in 14 seasons, with multiple deep runs culminating in 5 CIF Semi-Finals appearances and 2 CIF Championship games," Los Alamitos' letter to parents says. "Coach Schoonmaker has a proven track record of building high scoring and competitive teams with strong football cultures."

Schoonmaker is scheduled to meet his team on Thursday, April 16.

"We look forward to welcoming Coach Schoonmaker to campus and providing an opportunity for him to meet our players on Thursday afternoon, April 16th. Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. The future of Griffins Football is bright, and we are excited for what lies ahead under Coach Schoonmaker’s leadership," Los Alamitos athletic director Nate Berger wrote in his letter to football families.

TAKING OVER AT LOS AL

Schoonmaker is taking over a program that's been very successful as of late, including a 12-3 season in 2025 that culminated in a CIF-SS Division 2 title with a win over rival San Clemente.

Fenton was 80-33 in his time at Los Alamitos, including six seasons with nine or more wins since taking the post in January of 2016. Some of Los Alamitos’ top players as of late include stars like Malachi Nelson, Makai Lemon, and Lenny Ibarra.

Nelson was one of the country's top QBs in 2022. He ended his career with 7,977 passing yards, 105 TDs and just 21 interceptions. He was named Gatorade California Player Of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Lemon, who was a standout at USC and expected to be a top NFL draft selection this summer, was a standout at the prep level with 234 receptions, 3,646 yards and 41 touchdown receptions.