By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
The rollercoaster ride continues for Sean Lewis.
The Richards alum went from being the head coach at Kent State to the offensive coordinator at Colorado, one of the most talked about college football programs in the country this season because of Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. He was then demoted at Colorado, but is now is the new boss at San Diego State.
That sounds like a whirlwind, and when he first took the microphone for his first press conference as Aztecs head coach, he promised a whirlwind offense that was last seen in that southern California town when Don Coryell coached the San Diego Chargers and played a fast-tempo passing game. Coryell refined his high-flying approach as a coach at San Diego State before moving up to the NFL.
“We’re excited to build on this wonderful tradition and take it to new heights by refining it and making it our own in this AztecFast style of play so we can go and have a lot of fun in the process of doing it,” Lewis said.
Lewis replaces retiring Brady Hoke. Lewis has a reported five-year deal at $1.7 million per year.
Lewis was 24-31 at Kent State from 2018-2022 and led the team to a pair of bowl games. He also had assistant coaching stints at Syracuse and Bowling Green.
Lewis talked about his demotion at Colorado.
“[Sanders] felt like there needed to be a change, he made the change, and for me, it’s always been rooted in the players and being a professional and serving them,” Lewis said. “I was very proud of the way we finished out, especially with a true freshman [quarterback Ryan Staub] getting the start there at the end and making sure he was prepared.”
Getting some respect
Sandburg bowler Woodley Dangerfield was recently named the school’s Athlete of the Week after leading his team to an 8-1 record and helping the Eagles to a first-place finish in the Oak Lawn Invite. Dangerfield was carrying a 234 average during that stretch.
Sports bits
• Stagg’s boys soccer team, boys and girls cross country teams, girls swimming team, boys and girls golf teams, girls volleyball team and girls tennis team all won the IHSA Team Academic Awards for teams that carried a 3.0 or higher grade point average during their respective seasons.
• Chicago Red Stars players are involved in international play as Julia Bianchi is playing for Brazil, Casey Krueger for the United States, Jill Aguilera for Puerto Rico and Bianca St-Georges for Canada.
• Prep Baseball Report ranks Nazareth junior catcher Jade Faukse as the 35th player overall and third at his position heading into the 2024 season.