It surprised many who follow Monrovia’s football program when it parted ways with coach Chris Williams in late December.
At the time, Williams claimed that there was new administration at the school who wanted to make a change, so he resigned before they could fire him.
Almost three months later, Monrovia has found its new coach. The school announced this week that it has hired veteran coach Jose Casagran to take over the program and teach at the school.
Casagran is known for his coaching stints at two Los Angeles City schools, Roosevelt and South Gate.
Casagran trained under Roosevelt from 1998 to 2002. His teams went 43-14 overall and won three league titles.
After leaving Roosevelt, Casagran wasn’t a head coach for a decade before returning to South Gate in 2012. He coached there for seven seasons, making one appearance in the City Section Finals and three appearances in the semifinals.
After a five-year break, he is back as head coach.
“Monrovia High School is pleased to announce the hiring of Jose Casagran,” Monrovia Athletic Director Randy Bell said in a statement released by the school. “He is a Pomona Pitzer graduate with two advanced degrees and over 20 years of teaching experience.
“Coach Casagran is also a veteran football head coach, having served in similar roles at Roosevelt and South Gate High School. He posted a 95-34 record during his tenure at those schools and was the architect of South Gate’s turn from a program of nine wins in six previous years to a program that made the City Section finals two years after his inheritance .
During the five years under Williams as coach, the team went 35-14 overall and won three Rio Hondo League championships. The team went 18-4 overall the last two seasons, though they lost in the first round of the Division 6 and 8 playoffs in those two seasons, respectively.
BASEBALL TEAMS PLAYING IN IRVINE
Four of the San Gabriel Valley’s top baseball teams will go head-to-head in a high-profile tournament this week in Irvine.
La Mirada, South Hills, Bonita and Glendora are part of the Perfect Game Showdown, an eight-team event that began Wednesday at Great Park in Irvine.
La Mirada and Bonita, ranked 1st and 2nd in the SGV division, faced off in a round robin match in Pool B on Wednesday night. Glendora and South Hills faced off in a Pool A game on Wednesday.
Additional round-robin matches will take place on Thursday and Friday, with the winners of each pool meeting in the championship match at 1pm on Saturday