GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
At least 17 current or former head coaches, including many with Valley ties, are among the group of 42 applicants for the Weslaco High Head Football Coach/Athletic Coordinator position.
Weslaco ISD released the list of applicants on Tuesday in response to a public information request submitted by The Monitor.
Edinburg Vela head coach Michael Salinas, who is 31-5 in his past three years with the SaberCats, is one of the applicants. Other applicants with current or previous head coaching experience in the Valley are Clint Finley (Los Fresnos), Spencer Gantt (San Benito), Alexander Guerra (La Villa), Rocky James (Rio Hondo), Taihi Jones (Hidalgo), Gilbert Leal (Mercedes, Harlingen South), Steve Marroquin (PSJA High), and Monty Stumbaugh (Port Isabel, Hidalgo).
WISD also received applications from within the district, including Weslaco East defensive coordinator Rene Guzman, Weslaco High defensive coordinator Ross Moore, and Weslaco High boys basketball coach Gabe Valdez.
Weslaco ISD has a school board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday. One of the items on the agenda is “Superintendent’s Recommendation for Head Football Coach/Athletic Coordinator Weslaco High School.”
Tony Villarreal was reassigned from his duties as the head football coach at Weslaco High on Jan. 30.Villarreal coached at Weslaco High for 12 seasons, becoming one of the top 100 winningest coaches in Texas high school football history with an all-time record of 197-107-4.
Applicants for Weslaco High School Head Football Coach/Athletic Coordinator
Archila, Mike
Bechtold Jr., Robert
Bowman, Berry
Boyer, Kenneth
Brown, David
Chavez, Bradley
Cieri, Kenneth
Del Percio, Mark
Emerson, Thomas Colt
Esquivel Jr., Elias
Ferkovich, Dan
Finley, Clint
Franz III, Frank Anthony
Gail, Robert
Gantt, Spencer
Garza-Gerow, James
Gibbons, David G.
Guerra, Alexander M.
Guzman, A. Rene
Hammond, Marty L.
Hove, Matthew M.
Jacobs, Benjamin J.
James, Rocky Martin
Jones, Taihi
Jones, William Gregor
Leal, Gilbert D.
LemMon, Matthew
Marroquin, Esteban
Martinez, Pete D.
Mejia, Robert
Montgomery, Douglas
Moore, Ross
Moyer, Larry B.
Pena, Jose
Perez, Gilbert
Ponce, Jose
Salinas, Michael Eloy
Sanchez, Jose
Stumbaugh, Monty G.
Tarantola, Shaun A.
Troutman, Michael Alan
Valdez, Gabriel