It is Friday night (November 4) in Texas and Week 11 of the 2022 UIL high school football season kicks off with dozens of big games across the state tonight.
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Raul Lara has been the busiest man in Santa Ana over the past month.
Mater Dei announced Lara as its new football coach on April 26, and since then, he’s been getting acclimated to life as a Monarch. He’s been getting acquainted with 200 full-time employees at Mater Dei, partaking in donor meetings, evaluating his coaching staff, and of course, getting to know his team.
Lara, who’s most known for his time at Long Beach Poly where he won five CIF Southern Section titles, was officially introduced on Wednesday morning. He met with local media and took questions about his vision for the program heading into the 2024 season and beyond.
Lara, 58, spent time as a probation officer earlier in his life. He’s familiar with young men and how important structure is. It’s a foundational piece to his coaching philosophy as he dons new colors on the sidelines this fall.
“The probation department really helped me get a different perspective on kids. To be honest, the ‘probation kid’ and the ‘football kid’—a regular kid—they’re the same kids,” Lara explained. “The issue is kids having structure and not having structure. The kids that don’t have structure are on ‘survivor mode.’
“Within the first few days of me being here, we changed the structure and 90 to 95% of the kids have responded real well,” Lara added. “Kids want structure, even if they say they don’t, they do.”
.@SteveFryer asked new Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara if he’s been surprised by anything in his first month in Santa Ana.
“I was shocked there wasn’t much structure.”
More coverage of Lara’s presser coming. He was candid and personable. Good start. pic.twitter.com/ys963Lu5ys
Lara will take over for Frank McManus, who was at the helm for one season before being dismissed. McManus was the successor to longtime, legendary coach Bruce Rollinson.
“I was a little shocked to see there wasn’t much structure,” Lara said of his first few days with the team. “... (the players) were in the weight room and none of them had any uniforms on. That was daunting. Coming in, I was expecting all of them to come in with their red shirts on and gray shorts, like a soldier. I didn’t see that.”
Despite Mater Dei winning the CIF Southern Section Division 1 and CIF State Open Division championships last season under McManus, his off-the-field antics are what got him in hot water. The head coaching job at Mater Dei requires a lot more than just a football coach, it requires a CEO-like personality.
Lara understands that.
“I think I had 12 meetings (Tuesday),” Lara said chuckling. “There’s no doubt [it takes more than football], I’m meeting people left and right. To me, it’s kind of neat. I’m on a rollercoaster enjoying the time.”
Former Burbank John Burroughs high school boys basketball coach, Austin Pope, has been charged with theft in connection with his official capacity, according to a press release from the Burbank Police Department.
“In December of 2023, the Burbank Police Department was contacted by the Burbank Unified School District about possible theft of funds by Mr. Austin Pope. Mr. Pope was employed by the district but has since been terminated,” the release reads. “The months-long police investigation included obtaining witness and victim statements and the review of financial records. The investigation has revealed that Mr. Pope misappropriated funds he was entrusted with in his official capacity as a coach. The case was reviewed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, who referred it to the Burbank City Attorney’s Office.
“The Burbank City Attorney’s Office has since reviewed the case and filed one count of Theft by False Pretenses Exceeding $950, in violation of California Penal Code Section 532(a), against Mr. Pope.”
Pope is due to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 28 for arraignment.
Pope, a former standout basketball player himself at Burbank High from 2009–13, was hired to be Burroughs’s varsity coach in May 2023.
OFFICIAL: Burroughs High has hired Austin Pope (@AustinPope_) as its new boys basketball coach. Pope was a standout at Burbank High from 2009-13 before playing collegiately and professionally.
He will be a first-time head varsity coach after serving as an assistant at Viewpoint. pic.twitter.com/PLkrKFWmGr
In his debut season as a head coach this past winter, he led Burroughs to a 6–1 start before being officially released from the position on Dec. 1.
A statement from Burbank Unified School District Supt. John Paramo was sent to basketball families that day.
“Mr. Pope has been permanently released from his coaching duties at John Burroughs High School,” Paramo’s statement read. “I am disappointed that our multiple efforts to hold a productive meeting with Mr. Pope did not occur over the past several days. While I know many desire to know the specific details of the allegations that led to this decision, I am sorry to repeat that I am limited in what I can share, as Mr. Pope has legal privacy rights. I understand how unsatisfying it is to not receive these answers, but given the seriousness of the allegations and the on-going investigation I ask you to respect these legal limitations.”
There was a documentary-style video with the caption “The Firing: The Call that Exposed Burroughs & Fired Up its Players, Parents & Community” released Dec. 2 on Instagram (VIDEO) that shows Pope coaching his final game.
After losing to Harvard-Westlake, Pope addresses the team in the locker room after the game and tells the players he’s “been let go from the Burroughs program.”
The decision created an uproar within the program. Players and parents began to protest in efforts to get Pope reinstated. During that time, Burroughs players refused to play a game against Village Christian, resulting in a forfeit loss.
Eventually, Malique Johnson took over as interim coach and the Bears finished the season 15–14 overall.
