Johnson chosen as Warriors' football coach

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Ross Johnson is Fallbrook High School’s new head football coach.

Johnson has faced Fallbrook as an Escondido High School assistant coach and has been chosen to replace Troy Everhart, who coached Fallbrook from 2019 to 2021 and has taken a position as head coach at Troy High School in Troy, Ohio.

“I’m excited to get started,” Johnson said.

“We’re very excited to have him here,” said Fallbrook High Athletic Director Patrick Walker.

Johnson is a 2007 Escondido High School graduate and was a tight end and linebacker for the Cougars when he played. He was also on Escondido’s golf team.

Golf is a CIF spring sport, and Johnson noted that he would provide multi-sport athletes with the opportunity to compete in a spring sport before commencing spring football practice. That was the case at Escondido High School. “Our spring practices didn’t start until the spring seasons were pretty much done,” he said.

Spring sports have CIF postseason, so there may be some overlap. “I’d like to start it as soon as possible when all those spring regular seasons wrap up,” Johnson said.

Johnson has also been on Escondido High School’s faculty for the past nine years. He taught physical education for six of those years and health for three years. He has also taught math classes. He will teach physical education at Fallbrook High School, which will likely include sixth-period classes teaching football or other sports.

For the past 14 years, Johnson has been on the coaching staff of Escondido’s football team. He has been the defensive coordinator for the past seven years and has also coached linebackers, tight ends, and offensive linemen.

“He’s done a lot of coaching,” Walker said.

Escondido and Fallbrook have been in the same football league since the first year Johnson coached the Cougars. Escondido was moved from the Valley League to the Avocado League for 2008, joining Fallbrook in that league. The two teams were also in the Avocado League in 2009.

In 2010, the North County Conference added a fourth league and the Avocado League was replaced by the Avocado West League and the Avocado East League. Fallbrook and Escondido were both Avocado East League football members from 2010 to 2013. The two schools were both moved to the Valley League for 2014 and have been in that league ever since.

“I’m pretty familiar with Fallbrook,” Johnson said. “We’ve definitely seen them on a yearly basis.”

The CIF San Diego Section eliminated tie games in 2012, and the last tie for both programs was in 2010 when the Fallbrook-Escondido game in Escondido had a 21-21 score. Escondido won the other three games between 2008 and 2011, the Warriors were victorious in the 2012 through 2015 matches, and Escondido prevailed in the 2016 through 2019 games. Fallbrook’s 2020-21 victory over Escondido was by a 15-14 margin, and the Warriors won the 2021-22 game by a 28-23 score.

“I’ve seen just how much Fallbrook has improved in recent years,” Johnson said. “I see it as a team that’s on the rise, and they’re doing well.”

That encouraged Johnson to apply for the vacancy after Everhart resigned. “I think the program’s in really good shape where he left it,” Johnson said.

The Fallbrook search for a coach led to Johnson’s selection. “We got a highly qualified one in Ross Johnson. I’m excited about that,” Walker said.

In recent years, Fallbrook has not participated in 7-on-7 summer passing leagues, and Johnson hopes to have the Warriors participate in those. He would also like to restore the lowest level to the Fallbrook program. “The last couple of years there hasn’t been a freshman team,” Johnson said.

“I would like to get back to three teams as soon as possible,” Johnson said. “I’m definitely looking to get us back to three-level football as soon as possible.”

The 2021-22 Warriors had a 4-6 regular-season record and were 2-3 in Valley League play for fourth place in the standings. Fallbrook was seeded fourth in the CIF Division V playoffs, defeated San Ysidro in the quarterfinals for the Warriors’ first playoff win since 2015, and lost a 29-28 semifinal game to top-seeded Palo Verde to finish the season with a 5-7 record.

“I think that Coach Everhart left a really good foundation,” Johnson said. “I’m not looking to do anything tremendously different.”

Johnson noted that offensive and defensive formations may be based on the players Fallbrook has as well as the strengths or weaknesses of the Warriors’ opponent. His goal is to continue to grow the program.

“I’m just excited to get out on the field with these guys and really get to work,” Johnson said.

Johnson is still under contract with the Escondido Union High School District, but the Fallbrook Union High School District and the Escondido district are working on a potential long-term substitute which would allow Johnson to begin his Fallbrook High School activity prior to the end of the school year.

Most of Fallbrook’s assistant coaches are expected to continue with the program. “I’m excited to have a good chunk of that staff staying,” Johnson said.