By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

JOHN GLENN EAGLES

6-4 overall last season, 1-2 in the 605 League, third place

17-24 overall in the last five seasons

Head Coach: Elijhaa Penny (second season, 6-4)

10 seniors of 35 players lost from the 2023 Opening Day squad

Last participation in the playoffs: 2019

Schedule 2024

22.August @ Bassett (5-5 overall last season)

29.August Rancho Dominguez (3-7)

6 September @ University of Los Angeles (3-8)

13 September @ Norwalk (3-7)

20 September La Quinta (6-4)

27 September University of Irvine (4-6)

October 4 Grace (7-4)

11 October BYE

17 October Artesia (8-5)

October 24 Cerritos (9-6)

October 31 @ Pioneer (2-8)

In the eyes of John Glenn High head coach Elijhaa Penny, last season was a success, even though the Eagles haven’t made the CIF-Southern Section playoffs since 2019. In fact, his six wins are on par with the performance of the 2018 and 2019 playoff seasons.

“I think it was a success because these kids aren’t used to winning,” the former Norwalk High star and NFL player said. “So building a culture of winning and expecting to win and putting in the work necessary to win is a success without looking at the record. Just changing the culture and the mindset … now these guys are here and these young guys have a standard that they have to live up to, which is actually cool now. Overall, it was a huge success.”

Penny went on to say he saw how the players perceived the new coaches as not cutting corners or being sloppy. The coaching staff was on top of the players the whole time and after the one-point loss to Bassett High in the season opener, Penny said the players saw that the challenging work the coaches gave them was working.

Last season marked the third time since 1998 that the Eagles finished above .500, and Penny was the first rookie head coach to have a winning season during that time. Former head coach Vince Lobendahn coached the Eagles to consecutive 6-5 seasons in 2018 and 2019, which were the last two of his six seasons with the program.

Glenn only had 10 players coming from last season’s team, but this season looks set to be difficult for Penny as many key players who would have returned have chosen to transfer or are not playing. Because of this, the Eagles only have six players returning. One thing is for sure, this will be a completely different Glenn team.

ATTACK

The offense was decent at times, scoring 303 points. The Eagles went 6-1 when they scored at least 28 points in seven games. The offense will likely revolve around junior quarterback Luis Manuel Vergara, who completed 49 of 80 passes for 1,200 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions last season. One of the things Penny noticed about his signal caller last offseason compared to when Penny took over the program is that Vergara is like a coach on the field because he has been practicing and working hard with the other players every day.

“It’s just great to learn with him and grow with him,” Penny said. “We expect another great season from Luis.”

His replacement will be senior Raymond Acosta (22 of 40, 476 yards, five touchdowns), but Penny is quick to mention that Acosta will primarily play as a tight end. Another replacement for Vergara will be freshman James Cecilo, who could be the future of the program.

The biggest departure from last season’s team, and probably the biggest loss in recent memory for the program, is senior running back Tuiono Tuifua, who transferred to La Mirada High. His absence will be greatly missed given the numbers he put up last season (134 carries, 1,425 yards, 14 touchdowns, 26 receptions, 597 yards, seven touchdowns).

“Tui was obviously a great player,” Penny said. “He’s a good lad overall and unfortunately this transfer thing is just too big these days. We understand the loss we’ve suffered with Tui but my confidence is super high in those young guys and the guys that have come in now and filled their roles. It’s going to hurt us but my confidence is sky high in the guys we have now.”

Other running backs not returning to the Eagles are senior Dylan Arrington and junior running back Terry Henderson (54 carries, 569 yards, five touchdowns, seven receptions, 143 yards) and Daron Walker. That means sophomore Samuel Reeves, who gained 64 yards on nine touches, has big shoes to fill and is now the starting running back of choice. He will be joined in the backfield by junior Josiah Alcala, who was listed as a fullback last season, and junior Okoro Lee, who transferred from Gardena High. Penny says he is fast, tough and will be a big part of what the Eagles do this season.

Senior Jacob Ramirez is the leading veteran wide receiver, catching 18 passes for 439 yards and scoring four touchdowns, with Acosta and junior Jonah Mason Vergara’s favorite targets.

“The way I look at it is, unless you’re a 6’3″, 250-pound kid from Texas who can sprint the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, any position can be replaced,” Penny said of the transfer situation. “Any guy can be replaced. Losing those guys was definitely a big blow to our offense and really impacted our program in the direction we want to go.”

If there are concerns about Glenn’s offense, it will come from the line, as there is, as Penny puts it, chaos at several positions. There is a battle for the left tackle spot, as last season’s left guard (Johdan Escobar), center (Joshua Frausto), and right guard (Ivan Galindo) are no longer with the team. That being said, the line will be inexperienced, as sophomore Andre Romo is slated to play left guard, junior Emmanuel Lopez is expected to play center, junior Martin Lopez is likely to play left guard, and at least three players will be battling for the two tackle spots.

“Just from being here last year, we definitely had some skill,” Penny said. “We had a lot more experience, a lot more polished guys. But they brought a seed with them. They brought the seed that they just weren’t used to a winning culture, weren’t used to practicing how to be a winner, didn’t know how to talk as a winner. This group of guys that I have now are the guys that you want to go to war with on Fridays. They’re not going to quit; they’re not going to give up. I know that’s not going to be a problem. The only problem we would have would be experience across the board.”

DEFENSE

Unusual for a Glenn team was the 208 points it allowed last season, when the Eagles held five opponents under 20 points. In fact, they only lost in two of the four losses, by 36 points to Norwalk High and 38 points to Cerritos High.

Acosta and Alcala will play the end positions on the line, while Lopez will serve as nose guard. The secondary will feature Lee, Mason, Ramirez, Reeves, senior AJ Gutierrez and Romo, with one of the league’s best linebackers returning at the position. Reeves could also play some time there.

“I think both sides of the ball are going to do their jobs; we’re going to do what we need to do to get the job done,” Penny said. “All three phases, actually, because now I’m installing my special teams and schemes that we have in place now. The kids are excited; they’re pumped up. This group is a very hungry group of kids, and I believe they’re going to get the job done in all three phases of the game.”

SCHEDULE

Glenn knows the first four opponents because he faced those teams last season. He lost by one point to Bassett before crushing Rancho Dominguez High, then a four-point win over University High of the CIF-Los Angeles City Section and finally a 36-point loss to Norwalk.

“I think these first four games have been pretty decent,” Penny said. “I don’t think their record really reflects what kind of team they were because Bassett obviously has some talent on their side and Rancho Dominguez does, too. But all of the games are winnable, including the Norwalk game. I think if we can get this young group off to a good start, it would be very good for their confidence.”

The next three games, all at home, should be about Glenn’s level of competition before heading to 605 League action on the off week. The Eagles haven’t played La Quinta High since 2009 and won five of the last six meetings with the Aztecs from 2004-09. When you know you can make the playoffs with two league wins, an upset win in at least one of the first two games after the off week is crucial. When Glenn faced Cerritos last season, the score was just 10-0 at halftime.

“I think if you watch the game from the stands, it looks rough,” Penny said. “But if you watched the Cerritos game, everything was fine. They lined up exactly how we wanted them to. They played exactly how we expected them to, and that’s not something I blame the kids on or point fingers at them.”

“But we were a very young team last year, including the head coach,” he continued. “We were fresh off our break and I think we were too high at 5-2. We had this ego that we’re beating teams now. I don’t even think we were roughed up (against Cerritos). If you watched the film, it says John Glenn made way too many mistakes.”

HOMECOMING

Grace High will be the Eagles’ fourth non-league home opponent since 1999. Last season, the Eagles defeated Godinez High 31-10 for the team’s seventh home win since 1999, ending a four-game losing streak in such games. The other two non-league home opponents were in 2016, a 51-20 loss to Hoover High, and in 2019, a 24-16 loss to Hawthorne High.

The Simi Valley-based Lancers were a Division 13 at-large team last season after playing eight-man football the previous two seasons, and won seven of their final eight regular-season games before losing 65-50 to Miller High in the first round of the playoffs.

FINAL COMMENT

“I think you’re going to see a different group of kids this year because obviously a lot of kids are going to transfer,” Penny said. “But the attitude and mentality is going to be totally different. There are no kids here that are used to losing. We have a brand new group of kids that expect to win and they do what they have to do to win and prepare properly to win. I love this group, we’re young and I’m excited for the challenge for them.”

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