Jim Hartigan is only adding to his reputation as JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano (CA) continues to win.
Hartigan took over at the private school in 2007 after it had gone 2-27 the three previous seasons and managed to match the win total in his first year. The Lions ended this year at an incredible 10-2 and made the Pac5 playoffs in California for the first time in school history. They knocked off famed Mater Dei (Santa Ana) to sew up the spot, finished second in the Trinity League, and won the first playoff game in school history, too.
Another program-first happened when JSerra moved into the national rankings. The team remains at No. 48 when the Dec. 3 update of the NationalHSFootball.com HSFB100 was released Monday.
For Hartigan, it was more of the same as he has a track record of winning.
At 26, he was hired as the first head coach at Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) and built the program from the ground up, coaching a team of freshman in 1986 to a California Southern Section playoff team in its first varsity year of 1989. He stayed and enjoyed the successes with Division V championships in 1996 and 97, and finishing as the runner-up in 1998. In 2000 and 2001 the program moved into the Serra League and won the title each of those seasons.
His choice to take over at JSerra was largely questioned as the team had to forfeit games due to injuries and limited rosters prior to his arrival. It immediately became apparent that the team would respond the way the others did as JSerra went to 5-5 in his second year and 6-4 the following season. The program plateaued as the Trinity League improved its stock to being one of the best in the nation but JSerra broke though in the last two seasons. JSerra won seven games for the first time last year and pushed towards double digits in 2014.
Hartigan has been humble with the progress, giving credit to the kids and almost excusing his successes as fundamentals gone right. He has stuck with quarterback Nick Robinson since his sophomore season and overcome injuries as well as players transferring out of the program for more traditional powers with the same, old-school mindset.
His schedule has improved along with the team. He used bigger games to help form a new mindset and show players what it takes to step to the next level. He stresses group tackling and swarming to the ball on defense, and he adds in trick plays and focuses on special teams to complete his arsenal – even as the game goes to a more offense-first mentality.
With three seasons left on his five-year deal, the expectations are only going to grow as the program steps from the shadows to the forefront.
Talk high school football: Get a free user name | Post on The Varsity Board
