Sportexe Coach of the Year Earns Spot on Army All-American Bowl Staff

January 1st, 2007

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Sportexe National High School Coach of the Year Bill Redell, head coach of Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, Calif., will participate on the Army All-American Bowl coaching staff on Saturday, Jan. 6, in San Antonio for the annual high school all-star game. The Bowl features the nation’s top 80 high school football players, in an East versus West showdown. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.

Joining Redell on the West team, will be Oaks Christian quarterback Jimmy Clausen and defensive back Marshall Jones. Clausen is a U.S. Army Player of the Year finalist and has verbally committed to Notre Dame.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl sets out each year to recognize some of the nation’s most outstanding high school coaches. Every High School coach is eligible to coach in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as coaches from around the country are nominated for the Bowl. With the assistance of the Selection Committee the list of nominees is narrowed down to the top 14 coaches in the country. The selection criteria are based on a coach’s dedication to his student athletes, his leadership qualities, sportsmanship, and coaching performance.

Redell extended the winning streak to 46 games as the USA TODAY No. 6-ranked Lions won the first “official” California state high school football championship in 79 years by defeating Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa 27-20 in overtime in the California Interscholastic Federation’s Division III title game Saturday, Dec. 16.

Oaks Christian (15-0) became the first team to win the state championship since Kern County Union High, now Bakersfield High, won in 1927, and only the second team in state history to finish the season 15-0. The Lions also produced the second-highest point total (797) in state history, trailing Bloomington’s 880 points in 14 games in 1994.

Thanks to Canyon’s 27-13 Division I state championship victory over Concord’s De La Salle, which entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally, Oaks Christian was recognized by Cal-Hi Sports as State Team of the Year.

“I am looking forward to going to San Antonio and coaching some of the best talent in the nation,” said Redell. “It will be nice to coach Jimmy and Marshall one more time. The Army All-American Bowl is a great opportunity for people to take a look at players they will be hearing about on Saturdays for the next four years.”

Other winners of the Sportexe Coach of the Year award include: Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints (NFL); Art Biles, University of Houston (NCAA Division I-A); Dave Bennett, Coastal Carolina (NCAA Division I-AA); Bill O’Boyle, Chadron State (NCAA Division II); Frank Miriello, Washington & Lee (NCAA Division III); Dino Kaklis, Bethel College (Tenn.) (NAIA); and Brad Franchione, Blinn College (Junior College).

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