The Howell coaching tradition with Western football has notched its final victory.
Longtime Western football coach Toby Howell retired Wednesday after 18 seasons, he said Thursday.
Howell, 43, took over the Pioneers in 1996 for his father, Jim Howell, who guided the program for the previous 17 seasons.
Between father and son, the Howells guided Western for 35 consecutive seasons.
“It’s something to be proud of,” Toby Howell said of the legacy. “We had some good times, we had some bad. There was a long time in the county when Western football was a top 20 program.”
Toby Howell said while he still enjoyed coaching the games, he said the overall duties of running a program grew tiresome and led to his retirement. He will continue to teach at Western.
In 18 seasons, Toby Howell guided Western to eight Orange League titles and 12 playoff appearances, including CIF Division IX runner-up finishes to La Habra in 2003 and Tesoro in 2004. The Pioneers were 121-82-2 under Toby Howell.
He also coached future NFL players Mike Iupati (San Francisco) and Fili Moala (Indianapolis) and county standouts such as Devonte Merrifield.
