Football: Plenty of connections within CdM-Trabuco Hills game

The job Scott Meyer wanted, before he became the football coach at Corona del Mar High three years ago, was the one at Trabuco Hills.

Meyer almost found himself guiding Trabuco Hills, the Sea Kings’ opponent in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs on Friday at 7 p.m.

The year before Meyer took over the Sea Kings in 2011, he applied and interviewed at Trabuco Hills. He liked his chances of being the next man to succeed Jason Negro, who left for his alma mater, St. John Bosco.

Meyer assembled most of his staff, his offensive and defensive coordinators would be Kevin Hettig and Dan O’Shea, who both taught and coached at Trabuco Hills. O’Shea and Hettig served as assistants under Negro, helping the program make Southwest Division finals appearances in 2007 and ’09.

“I kind of was led to believe that I had a real good shot to get it,” said Meyer, adding that he was a finalist. “I was kind of making plans to get it going down there. The process for some reason got dragged on for [about a month].

“I think they were concerned [that I was] coming from Long Beach [and whether] I could hire a good staff. [O’Shea and Hettig] were both there with Jason and a big part of [Trabuco Hills’ success]. They went to a couple of championship games down there. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want those guys, especially being on-campus guys and the kind of people they are and coaches.”

Meyer lost out on the Trabuco Hills position to Scott Orloff four years ago. He said he was disappointed, but Meyer moved on. When CdM hired Meyer in the spring of 2011, he brought on O’Shea and Hettig as his defensive and offensive coordinators.

O’Shea and Hettig still teach at Trabuco Hills, and they have made the Monday-to-Saturday commute from the Mission Viejo campus to CdM during the football season for four years now. All the miles are worth it, because since Meyer, Hettig and O’Shea hooked up, CdM has gone 50-5, claiming three undefeated Pacific Coast League titles, three CIF Southern Section Southern Division titles, and a CIF State Division III title.

Any concerns of Meyer’s ability to build a great staff can be dismissed.

“This has turned out to be a great place to coach and teach,” Meyer said of CdM.

“[O’Shea and Hettig] are great guys. The kids love them. They’re supper passionate, energetic and really, really smart scheme-wise. Their work ethic is unbelievable.”

Meyer said he doesn’t hold any resentment toward Trabuco Hills about not being offered the job. He’s actually gotten to know Trabuco Hills’ current coach.

Orloff is no longer in charge at Trabuco Hills, going 21-19 and failing to make the playoffs in four seasons. Tony Henney is in his first season at the helm of the Mustangs. When top-seeded CdM (10-1) plays at Trabuco Hills (7-4), Meyer and Henney will coach against each other for the second time in as many years in the postseason.

The previous matchup between the two coaches came in December in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III playoffs at Orange Coast College, where CdM beat Ojai Nordhoff, 24-8, to advance to the CIF State Division III Bowl Game. A month later, Henney left his job at Nordhoff, where he led his alma mater to two CIF Southern Section Northwest Division crowns in six years.

Henney decided to make a new home at Trabuco Hills. Can you guess who took Henney in, helping him settle in before his family moved from Ventura County to Orange County?

“He actually lived with Dan O’Shea for a couple of months when he first moved down because his wife stayed in Ojai and he was looking for a place to live,” Meyer said. “I think they sat there and watched … the Nordhoff-CdM game a few times together and talked a little football.

“Dan’s teaching at Trabuco, and he thought [Henney] was a good guy, so [Henney] lived with Dan for a couple of months. Dan hadn’t gotten married yet. Dan got married this summer. They had the little coach’s pad.”

O’Shea and Hettig are reluctant to talk about teaching at Trabuco Hills and coaching at CdM during this week with the two schools squaring off in the playoffs. Meyer said another of his assistants, Joel Wittenberg, also teaches in the same social studies department as O’Shea and Hettig at Trabuco Hills.

“They say it’s been great,” Meyer said, referring to the treatment O’Shea, Hettig and Wittenberg have received from Trabuco Hills’ players, students and faculty this week. “The kids down there are great kids. Obviously the kids there want to win and our coaches want to win.”

Two of Meyer’s former assistants would like nothing better than to beat Meyer.

Meyer lost a couple of assistants to Trabuco Hills. Kyle Collins and his father, Dan, coached under Meyer during CdM’s historic 16-0 season last year. Meyer said the two decided to go back home, Kyle played at Trabuco Hills and Dan used to coach at the school.

With Kyle and Dan coaching the offensive line and receivers, respectively, at Trabuco Hills, Meyer said he isn’t worried about his ex assistants giving the Mustangs an edge.

“They know it,” Meyer said of CdM’s zone-read offense, “but we’re doing things differently this year, so I don’t feel it’s a huge factor.

“It’s a good relationship we have with Tony, Kyle and Dan. Tony’s a really good guy, a good coach, and with [Kyle and Dan] there, it’s going to be a fun night. It’s going to be real competitive.”