Jason Presley was named football coach at Orange Lutheran on Monday, three days after the school announced that Chuck Petersen would not return next season.
Presley was Orange Lutheran’s freshman coach this season. He previously had been an assistant coach at the school, under Jim Kunau, and was an all-league lineman at Orange Lutheran in the early 1990s.
Presley will give up his role as the school’s director of admissions.
Orange Lutheran principal Todd Eklund said the school’s administration had been considering Presley as a future Lancers football head coach “for a long time.”
“Coach Presley has always stood out as a leader on campus,” Eklund said. “He’s the right man at this time.”
Asked how important it was for Orange Lutheran to hire somebody with Orange Lutheran roots, Eklund said, “Jason’s a Lancer through and through. First and foremost is the experience he brings and his inspirational passion.”
Orange Lutheran finished 5-6 overall this season and tied with Santa Margarita for third place in the Trinity League with a 2-3 league record. The Lancers lost to Rancho Cucamonga in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
