Look who’s back

It wasn’t quite Friday Night Lights — it was a Thursday game, after all — but the feeling was still the same for Harold Eggers.

Ocean View High’s new, yet not-so-new, football coach found out that you could come home again — yes, even for a third time — when he began his most recent stint in charge of the Seahawks program Sept. 11 against Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana at Orange Coast College.

The setting, he said, was perfect for his return.

The outcome, a 15-14 victory for Ocean View decided on a successful two-point conversion run midway through the fourth quarter, made it even sweeter.

Eggers said he had made the decision to go for two before the game even started, should the outcome of the game hinge on such a situation.

“I played here [OCC] as a player [Cypress College] and have coached here before, and it’s just a great football venue, much like the [Santa Ana] bowl,” Eggers said. “It’s a beautiful stadium and I couldn’t think of a better place, other than playing at home, to begin another run at Ocean View.”

Eggers first took over the Ocean View program in 1998 and won 16 games before leaving after the 2000 season. He won four games in his next go-round with the program between 2002-04. He was part of Head Coach Dean Yoshiyama’s coaching staff — coaching quarterbacks and defensive backs from the press box — last year when the Seahawks won seven games and went to the CIF playoffs, and he now begins his third coaching campaign with a victory.

“I’m happy that we got this win and happy for our coaches,” said sophomore Nolan Tippy, moments after his first career start at quarterback against Calvary Chapel. “It’s a great win for our team and a great way to start the season.”

Eggers said his transition back to head coaching has been made “a lot easier” due to his coaching staff. He said he bought Wayne Manzo (offensive coordinator) and Marty Calvan (outside linebackers, wide receivers) back into the fold and worked last year as an assistant along with Jeff Anger (defensive coordinator).

Eli Atol (defensive line) and Dennis Justiani [offensive line] round out his staff.

“They’ve all made it go more smoothly for me,” he said. “So have the kids.

“I think the big difference for me this time as head coach is that I have more of an appreciation of my relationship with the kids. Not that I didn’t have an appreciation before, it’s just that now I’m more aware of it. I seem to be more relaxed and am enjoying my time with the kids. But when it’s time to go to work on the field, they know I’m their coach.”

There is one thing that he said hasn’t changed at any time during his tenures at the school.

“These kids play with a lot of heart,” he said. “Ocean View is a unique environment and program in itself. We’re a smaller school that typically plays schools with more students. We’ve always had a smaller roster than most schools. When I first got here, I called it ‘Ironman Football,’ because many of our kids had to play both ways. It’s still the same. We’ve done that for so long now, that I’m sort of used to it.

“Our opener last week at OCC brought back a lot of memories. I’m always excited to see how the kids perform and I’ve always said that there’s nothing like playing football on a Friday night. It’s just not about the team. It’s also about the cheerleaders, the band, the parents, the students and the fans, the whole atmosphere. I’m really excited to be a part of it all again.”