NOTES: Foss to coach Sierra Vista football

John Foss often told Arbor View football coach Dan Barnson that he would not leave his position as an Aggies assistant unless he found the right opportunity to lead his own program. And as jobs opened across the valley over the years, Foss kept his word, continually passing on the chance to apply.

Until this winter.

Foss, 50, was hired at Sierra Vista, and the first-time head coach will try to resuscitate a Mountain Lions program that hasn’t reached the Sunset Region playoffs since 2008.

“People wanted me to go for certain jobs, but they didn’t attract me like the Sierra Vista job did,” Foss said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of places in town where you can turn things around quickly. ... It’s kind of a challenge, but I like the challenge.”

Foss replaced Mark Sauve, who resigned after eight seasons. Sauve finished 24-57 and made the postseason in three of his first four seasons. The Mountain Lions went 1-8 (0-5 Northwest League) in 2012.

“Coach Foss came highly recommended, and if we didn’t snatch him up, he would have got a head-coaching job somewhere else,” Sierra Vista athletic director Michael Jackson said. “He’s been around nothing but success, and we’re excited he’s bringing that system to Sierra Vista. Our goal is to make the playoffs and be consistently in the playoffs.”

Foss graduated from Chaparral in 1980 and played at Northern Arizona. He spent 10 years as an assistant at Palo Verde and seven at Arbor View, the past six as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator.

Foss hopes his experience helping to build Arbor View into a perennial playoff team will aid his efforts in his new job.

“The appeal at Sierra Vista is they’re buying into the framework that has worked in the past,” Foss said. “They want somebody to point the program in the right direction, and I feel I know what it takes.”

The programs at Palo Verde and Arbor View are known for running the double wing on offense, and Foss plans to use the formation at Sierra Vista — with his own twist on the system.

“Kids like to throw the ball nowadays, and we want to attract those types of kids,” Foss said. “We’ll use the double wing as a base and branch off without confusing the kids. I know from trying to stop it, I think there’s things you can do to make it more troublesome to prepare for you.”

ALLEN WINS GATORADE AWARD — Centennial senior Marcus Allen was named the Gatorade Nevada boys basketball Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-3-inch Allen averaged 28.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists as the Bulldogs went 23-10 and advanced to the Division I state final.

Allen signed with Stanford and carries a 4.8 grade-point average. The award recognizes athletic excellence along with academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the court.