Trinity League's Orange Lutheran hires Ray Fenton as New Football Coach

Orange Lutheran has appointed Ray Fenton as the new football coach.

"I felt like there's no better place for me in the world," Fenton said. "I want to lead a Christ-based program."

After parting ways with Rod Sherman on February 2, the school announced Fenton as its new head coach on Friday, March 6.

Names like Frank McManus, Troy Thomas, and former standout at O-Lu, Aaron Corp, among a few others, were also in the running for the high-profile Trinity League job.

In Friday's media availability with Fenton, 63, and key figures within the school's administration, it's clear the institution's Christian faith needs to be at the forefront.

"Our young men and women need to be in an environment where they are provided a place where they can experience sport in a great way," Orange Lutheran athletic director Jon Spencer said. "There's no better way to grow young people in Christ than through what they love to do."

Spencer also made it adamant about Orange Lutheran's intention when it comes to winning on the football field, too.

"We are absolutely going to be intentional about competing to be the very best we possibly can," Spencer added. "We are going to provide support for athletes to develop them into the best possible version they can be."

The Lancers finished the season 3-9 this past fall (including two forfeit losses). They will kick-off the season on August 21 hosting Miami Central (Fla.) at Orange Coast College.

The hire tabs the third new head coach in the Trinity League after JSerra and Servite also made coaching changes. JSerra hired Hardy Nickerson and Servite pegged Rick Garretson.

MORE ON FENTON

Fenton is coming off a tremendous season at Los Alamitos where the Griffins won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship and finished 12-3.

In his time at Los Alamitos, Fenton is 80-33, including six seasons with nine or more wins since taking the post in January of 2016. Before arriving at Los Al, Fenton coached at Webb in Claremont and Cypress where he won a CIF title in 2007 and was later named California Coach of the Year, according to the OC Register.

Fenton also has experience dealing with big-time players. Most recently, he coached highly-touted QB Malachi Nelson and ultra-talented wideout Makai Lemon, who is likely to be a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

ABOUT ORANGE LUTHERAN FOOTBALL

Orange Lutheran is one of the six programs in the Trinity League, along with defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion Santa Margarita and national powerhouses Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. JSerra and Servite are high-level programs, too.

As of late, the Lancers have been a very good program, despite not being able to maintain a high-level of play like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran has always been competitive. The Lancers upset St. John Bosco in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs this past year to reach the Division 1 semifinals before losing to eventual champion Santa Margarita.

Sherman was the coach for five seasons. He won a CIF Southern Section Division 2 title in 2021 before earning a berth to the CIF Southern Section Division playoffs every year after that. Sherman was 33-29 in his time at O-Lu.

He recently was hired to be the head women's flag football coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.