San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
McClymonds’ Peters gets national coaching honor
Janice Howard recently found a letter that her 52yearold son Michael Peters had written when he was 10.
“It said that when I grew up I was going to be a football coach,” Peters said. “It kind of freaked me out. I don’t remember writing that. I was like ‘for real?’ ”
In the letter, young Peters predicted he’d be coaching the Green Bay Packers, but just the same, Peters can take equal pride in coaching threetime state champion McClymonds-Oakland, which he graduated from in 1986.
Besides the onfield success — the Warriors completed another unbeaten season Friday with a 480 win over SkylineOakland — Peters has been a mentor and role model to countless West Oakland kids as an assistant for 28 seasons and the past seven as head coach.
He’s won several awards, including the 2018 CalHi State Small Schools Coach of the Year, a year after Oakland honored him with a key to the city. On Wednesday, Peters was presented another surprise letter. He was selected the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches High School Coach of the Year, which honors a coach who “has excelled on the field and had exemplary seasons or used his position to advance diversity in the high school ranks. The honoree demonstrates integrity, character and excellence.” Maryland football coach Michael Locksley is an executive director of the organization, as is Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome. Coaches Nick Saban and Mike Tomlin are on the board.
Peters has propelled a successful program to new heights. The Warriors have gone 805 (not counting two forfeit defeats in 2014) since he took over, and during this pandemicshortened spring season they outscored six opponents 30614. KO Bros camp: The day after an odd and exhausting season ended, Peters was back on the McClymonds field to host to the KO Bros Lineman Camp, corun by New York Jets center Leo Koloamatangi, a former Sacred Heart PrepAtherton and Hawaii standout.
Koloamatangi and his brother Meffi, a lineman in the Canadian Football League, started the NCAAapproved scouting and recruiting service camp in August in response to the exorbitant costs of club football, Leo said. Saturday was the KO Bros’ seventh camp, and they have nine more planned in the next 16 weeks in several states.
Offering innercity players college exposure is also important to the KO Bros, Koloamatangi said.
“We want to serve local coaches and leagues like the OAL, and having someone like coach Peters step up is tremendous,” Koloamatangi said. McClymonds’ victory: Junior quarterback Dreyan Paul accounted for more than 200 yards and scored four touchdowns, Tajir Golden rushed six times for 160 yards and Mike Dansby and Dwayne McDougle each caught two touchdown passes and played well defensively in the secondary Friday as the seventhranked Warriors finished 60.
Saturday basketball: Jeremiah Jones drove coast to coast for the goahead basket with two seconds left, then forced a turnover, lifting host SalesianRichmond (22) to a 6967 win over No. 1 Bishop O’DowdOakland (12). Emmanuel Callas had 14 of his gamehigh 16 points in the second half as No. 2 CampolindoMoraga improved to 60 with a 4638 win at No. 3 Riordan (21). In girls play, Silvia Fonongaloa had 12 points and 13 rebounds, Alexsandra Alvarado 12 and Sofia Fidelus and Nevaeh Asiasi combined for 18 as fourthranked Salesian (20) recorded a 5853 home win over No. 3 Bishop O’Dowd (11).