Chaminade has named Antoine Torrey as the school's next Varsity Head Football coach.
The announcement was made Tuesday during an afternoon press conference.
Torrey, an assistant at Chaminade and former head coach at Normandy, succeeds Doug Taylor, who wrapped up a 40 year high school football coaching career in 2012, including 16 on the job at Chaminade.
Torrey 41, spent the past two seasons as the running game coordinator for the Red Devils, and also serves as an assistant athletic director, physical education teacher and wrestling coach at the school.
Athletic Director Tom Fernandez said the school was looking for someone who was a teacher, had high character, could serve a a role model while promoting academics and building pride in the football program and found it in Torrey.
Torrey spoke of the 12 years he's known his predecessor, first as an opponent and later as a colleague and praised what Taylor has built on Lindbergh Blvd.
"I witnessed how a coach could demonstrate such fiery competitive spirit yet he had such compassion and I want Coach Taylor to know that I am grateful and I look forward to leading a successful program with pride, dignity and integrity," Torrey told an audience in the school library, that also included Taylor.
Torrey came to Chaminade after having the most successful season in Normandy history, a 10-3 campaign, but saw shifts in district leadership that had him looking for a change. His defensive coordinator at Normany, Brian Baldwin, took a position at Chaminade and suggested Torrey was interested in joining the staff.
The Red Devils finished 2012 4-6 and graduate more than a dozen seniors. Torrey, who said he favors an offense that will rely on the running game in multiple formations, said he'll look to build a 12-month a year program with an emphasis on weight training, scouting film, special teams and concussion awareness. He'll have Thomas Martin, who he called a Division I caliber kicker who saw action at Quarterback for much of 2012, along with Dominique Bobo, returning at running back, behind an offensive line that will have 4 players who saw action in 2012.
New uniforms and helmets are in the works, and Torrey said the school is exploring camps on campus and as far away as the University of Notre Dame.
