The San Francisco 49ers Charlie Wedemeyer Memorial Coach of the Week award for week two goes to Steve Sell from Aragon High School in San Mateo, CA.
The Aragon Dons traveled right down the road to San Mateo High School Friday night, where they convincingly defeated the Bearcats, 42-14. Though it was a non-league game, there is no telling either squad this matchup didn't mean a little extra.
"There is not much motivation needed for this one. Though it may not be the 'official' rivalry, it's definitely the one the kids get most excited about. They know each other so well, everyone always looks forward to this one," said Aragon Head Coach, Steve Sell.
Coach Sell knows all about the added motivation to the rivalry between the crosstown high schools.
Sell was an Aragon Don himself back in the day. He strapped it up for the Dons under center, and played defensive back as well. In fact, his senior season Sells' led the team to its first appearance in the CCS playoffs in the fall of 1983.
"This game is always a rivalry because the kids from these two schools come from the same middle schools. Even when I played, it was always kids I went to school with and it's still the same exact way today," said Coach Sells.
Aragon High School is in the longtime coach's blood. Coach Sell's wife, Karen, also went to Aragon. His brother, Jim, and sister, Linda, were Dons as well, and now the lineage continues on to the next generation of Sell's, as his son starts his senior year and his daughter enters her sophomore year.
Steve Sell started his administrative and coaching roles at Aragon in 1989, where he started as an assistant coach, and took over the reigns as head coach in 2000. In addition to his role as head coach, Sell has been the school's athletic director since 1996.
Coach has his team out to an encouraging 2-0 start in 2016, defeating Carlmont High week one and San Mateo High most recently, with a 99-37 point differential. In their win against San Mateo this week, their game was about as complete as it gets, operating efficiently on all cylinders. Offensively, it was a well-balanced attack led by the play of their backfield.
"Our rushing yards won't jump off the page, because none of our backs had over 100 yards, yet we rushed for over 250 total yards. We are really lucky. We have four really outstanding backs sharing the carries," said the head coach.
"We have a young quarterback who was super-efficient as well. He had two passing touchdowns to two different receivers. He spread the ball around nicely and executed the offense beautifully."
Defensively, Aragon's secondary forced three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
"I would say the play of our defensive backs was what really stood out if I had to point to one component," said Sell.
Aragon travels to South San Francisco next week as they try to remain perfect.
As our Coach of the Week, Steve Sell will receive a $1,000 grant for the Aragon football program from the 49ers Foundation. As part of this award, he will also receive two tickets to a 49ers home game where he will be recognized on the field. The week prior to the game, Coach Sell will be invited to the visit the SAP Performance Facility to watch a closed practice where 49ers head coach Chip Kelly will officially present him with his award. Coach Sell will also be featured on Cal-Hi Sports during their programming this weekend.
Congratulations, Coach Sell!
