Derwin Henderson was not intending to coach this season. He hadn’t been a head coach since 2019 at Hawthorne. But he lives in the Inland Empire, and Rialto High kept asking him to take the open position. He finally relented, and big changes are already taking place.

Rialto is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Ontario, Temecula Prep and Indio. That’s notable because the team was 0-10 last season and 1-9 in 2023.

Henderson has been a head coach at Morningside, South East and Hawthorne. He was in the LAPD for 33 years, rising to sergeant. His son, Bryce, is a freshman football player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Linebacker Alberto Tapia has been a standout for Rialto on defense. Noah Valdez is a top athlete on offense and defense.

The games figure to get tougher in the coming weeks, but there’s a culture change at Rialto that certainly is good for the players and the student body.

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