It’s looking like another exciting year for football in Irvine.

Northwood, Woodbridge and Crean Lutheran open their seasons this weekend while University, Irvine and Beckman start next week.

While Corona del Mar looks like the clear-cut favorite to win the Pacific Coast League, there could be quite a scramble for the second and third spots.

Irvine, Woodbridge and Northwood have to be the favorites to contend for the two and three spots.

But University, which struggled last year with injuries, could be one of the surprise teams in the league.

The Trojans have a lot more depth than they’ve ever had and Coach Mark Cunningham seems very optimistic and confident with former Trojan and NFL player Shar Pourdanesh joining the staff and working with the offensive and defensive lines.

The Trojans are also healthy, Cunningham said.

New coach takes helm at Beckman

Five of the six Irvine coaches return but Beckman has a new coach, former Irvine High player and Pacifica coach Marcello Giuiliano, who replaces Glen Fisher. Fisher took the job at Costa Mesa High.

Ironically, Fisher’s first game as Costa Mesa coach will be against Northwood at 7 p.m. Friday at Irvine Stadium.

Giulliano, who played for former coach Terry Henigan, has been trying to get a job in the Irvine Unified District for some time, and now he’s got one.

It may take him time to get his program in place and to build the program’s numbers up, but the other coaches in the city seem to think he’s well qualified and anyone who has coached under Henigan, certainly is well prepared.

There have been some bad feelings among the rest of the Irvine schools with Beckman’s football program over the years and we’ve heard that the hiring of Guiliano, a former Irvine guy, could help mend some fences.

New turf in place at Irvine Stadium

Great news for players who will be competing at Irvine Stadium.

There is a new artificial turf, which replaces the turf that has been in place since 2004.

The track has also been re-done.

“The new turf technology has come a long way,” said Irvine Coach Erik Terry. “It even has a layer of shaved cork on the layer which provides a cooler surface.”

Crean Lutheran at the Big I

It’s good to see that Crean Lutheran Coach Brett Mertens has scheduled a few of his teams home games at Irvine Stadium this year. It’s definitely a plus for the Saints fans. Crean Lutheran has a nice on campus field but not much seating there.

More construction at Irvine Stadium

There is more construction under way at the main parking lot off of Escolar near Irvine Stadium. There will be less parking spaces in that lot, so you may want to get to the games a little earlier.

There will also be overflow parking in the lot behind the baseball field if you aren’t worried about your car getting a little dirty.

Corona del Mar welcomes new coach

Corona del Mar has a new coach. Dan O’Shea takes over for Scott Meyer, who took the Servite job. O’Shea is showing plenty of respect to the other teams in the league even though the Sea Kings are favored to win their fourth straight league title.

“We have our hands full,” he said. “The league has gotten increasingly more competitive every year. I truly believe the coaches in this league are as talented as they come. Their teams are extremely prepared, and we will be fortunate to be as successful as we have been just because of the talent level and the coaching in the league. It challenges us greatly.”

Coaching change at Woodbridge

Long-time Woodbridge assistant football coach Kirk Harris has retired, according to head coach Rick Gibson.

“Kirk was such a vital part of Woodbridge football. He was our defensive coordinator for many of his 30-plus years. His passion and devotion to Woodbridge football will sorely be missed. Kirk was more than a football coach; he was a mentor of young people. He has been replaced by Ryan Rybicki, a para-psychologist in the district.”

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/irvine-679618-coach-new.html