Andre Smith hired as Heritage High's new football coach

By Doug Spoon, Editor

At the end of the 2013 high school football season, Andre Smith stood on the opposing sidelines as Heritage High defeated his Rancho Verde Mustangs, 34-33, to win the CIF Central Division championship.

“I’ve seen what the program can do,” said Smith, who was an assistant coach for the Mustangs at the time. “I’ve seen them play over the years. Coach [Kraig] Broach did a good job building the infrastructure. I’m excited to come over and add to it.”

Smith, the offensive coordinator at Murrieta Valley this year, has been hired as the new head football coach at Heritage. He replaces Adam Contreras, who is leaving after one season as head coach to rejoin Broach on the staff of the new Liberty High football program.

After spending six years as an assistant coach at Rancho Verde, Smith spent the next six years at Murrieta Valley. A local resident for 10 years, Smith said he is looking forward to meeting the Heritage players for the first time on Tuesday.

“I want to let the players know I’m here for them,” Smith said. “I’ve worked with kids my whole life. They’ve done a lot of good things here over the years, and looking at their roster, they have like 21 guys returning with experience. I’m fired up to be here and I plan to be here for a long time.”

Smith will be a special education teacher at Heritage in addition to his coaching duties. Although administrators are still awaiting final details on protocol for summer workouts, Smith hopes to begin working with the players on June 7 – just a few days after graduation.

“We’ll hit the ground running,” he said.