New faces, new responsibilities on RHS football coaching staff

By Bill Tamburrino

The Ramona High School football staff has a few new faces and several coaches are changing their responsibilities.

Last season the frosh and junior varsity staffs worked together and the varsity staff worked alone. This season the varsity and junior varsity staffs will work together and the frosh staff will work solo.

Head Coach Damon Baldwin will continue to call the offense. Mike Ernst will coach the wide receivers. He is moving up to the varsity staff after being the junior varsity head coach last season — a job he will hold on Friday nights.

Former head coach Billy Clark will take over the chores of special teams coordinator and call the junior varsity offense and work with quarterbacks.

Former RHS offensive lineman John Baum will coach the offensive line. Baum has served several tours in the War on Terrorism and is an 11-year Army veteran. He coached at Patrick Henry High School before coming to Ramona High.

Stefon Pace will call the defense for the second year and coach the linebackers and running backs. Pace was a captain at USC and a teammate of Junior Seau at Troy.

Jason Matthews will assist the defense by mentoring varsity and junior varsity defensive backs. Matthews has been coaching at RHS for eight years and has coached every area of responsibility. He is the longest tenured assistant coach on Baldwin’s staff.

Brent Harvey will coach the defensive tackles and coordinate the junior varsity defense — a job that he excelled at on the freshman level.

United States Navy Petty Officer first class Steve Lowe will move up to the varsity and assist on the defensive line and coach the junior varsity running backs. PO1c Lowe is in his third year as an assistant at RHS.

Coach Gene Edwards will join the varsity staff as the defensive ends coach. Edwards is a newcomer to RHS but not to coaching. He brings 27 years of coaching experience in the Grossmont League to the staff. Edwards is a teacher in the Grossmont school district.

Before the tragic death of Ryan Morgan, Coach Baldwin had this to say about his father, Rheynard Morgan: “Mister Bulldog, Rheynard Morgan, will coach the kickers and continue in his role as the best quality control coach in California. Our video technology is second to none and Coach Morgan is the reason. This man does everything and Ramona High School is lucky to have such a loyal individual.”

West Point graduate, Matt Lisowski, will assist Morgan with special projects and computer and video technology. Lisowski won eight games as the frosh head coach last season and has moved up the ranks from Pop Warner coach to frosh assistant and is now a varsity assistant.

Long time softball, baseball and football coach Mike Schuler will assume the duties of head freshman coach and call the offense. He has been an assistant in the RHS football program for seven years.

Jeremy Drews will coordinate the defense. Twin brothers Preston and Nathan Snyder will coach on Schuler’s staff. Preston will coach the offensive line and tight ends and Nathan will coach running backs and linebackers.

“You know you are doing something right when guys you coached come back to coach for you,” said Baldwin with his tongue in his cheek.

Phillip Skora, who played at Cathedral Catholic, will coach defensive line.

Another RHS alum, Ben Cass, will also assist on the frosh staff.