Oaks Christian hires former JSerra OC Rudy Carlton as new head football coach

Former Azusa Pacific and JSerra coach is now the new football coach at Oaks Christian.

Rudy Carlton is the new Oaks Christian head coach. / APU Athletics

Oaks Christian has hired Rudy Carlton as its new head football coach.

Carlton is new to the area, but not new to high school football. His most recent post was at JSerra Catholic as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Victor Santa Cruz, who was let go after three seasons in November.

Carlton, who also coached at Azusa Pacific University for more than a decade, will take over for Charlie Collins, who was at the helm for eight seasons in Westlake Village before being let go this past December.

OUT-OF-BOX HIRE FOR OAKS

The hire comes as a surprise. Carlton has never been a high school football head coach before, and considering Oaks Christian's storied success, it's fair to assume that a figure with more experience as a head coach or even someone with local ties would be more suitable.

When Collins was let go, the school's press release stated its requirements for the search:

"Oaks Christian is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and identifying exceptional leadership of the school’s football program as we look to further grow our mission of 'athletic distinction.' The school is committed to finding the best head coach that will be a strong fit for the school, the student-athletes, and the program. We look forward to opening our search to both local and national candidates."

Nevertheless, Carlton has a terrific reputation within the football community and is well-respected among his peers.

UPHILL CLIMB WITH CLAUSENS AT WESTLAKE

His biggest challenge will come from across the street at Westlake High, where Rick and Casey Clausen helped to turnaround the football program. The Warriors were 0-10 in 2024 and in just one year under the Clausens, Westlake turned in a 10-0 regular season in 2025.

The Clausens, who have deep football roots at Oaks Christian anchored by Rick and Casey's younger brother, Jimmy Clausen, who helped the program win a Southern Section record 48 straight games from 2003 to 2007 under legendary coach Bill Redell.

Oaks Christian has won eight CIF championships, the most recent coming in 2017 under Jim Benkert. The Lions won a CIF-SS Division 2 title with standout players Kayvon Thibodeaux and Zach Charbonnet.

The Clausens were thought to be a no-brainer when it came to Oaks Christian's football job, but the school's brass clearly doesn't seem to think so. Problem is, the Clausen name isn't just rooted deep within the Oaks Christian community, it's rooted into the surrounding community as a whole. It means getting local top-end talent to play football at Oaks Christian over Westlake will be a challenge for Carlton.

Only time will tell what Carlton can make of it, and at what level Oaks Christian football intends to compete ...

feed

---

Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school sports news.

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: 

Download iPhone App | Download Android App