Del Sol coach has the respect of his players, peers

Justin M. Bowen

Del Sol High football coach Preston Goroff shares a moment with senior wide receiver Evan Weinstock following the Dragons’ 20-19 victory against Basic on Saturday in the Sunrise Regional championship game.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Bishop Gorman-Del Sol Practice

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The top high school football coaches in Southern Nevada are widely considered to be Las Vegas High's Chris Faircloth, Palo Verde's Darwin Rost and Bishop Gorman's Tony Sanchez.

It’s time to add another coach to the mix. Missing from the list, and always flying under the radar, is Del Sol's Preston Goroff.

But come Saturday, when Goroff leads his team against Gorman in the large-school state championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium, that will surely change.

Goroff, whose mentor was legendary Cimarron-Memorial coach Greg Spencer, has used Spencer’s philosophy of establishing the run game and being more physical than the opposition to become one of the valley’s elite coaches.

It’s Goroff’s ability to get the most out of his athletes that makes him special.

The Del Sol program isn’t like those at Gorman, Las Vegas or Palo Verde that are stacked with talented athletes at several positions.

Goroff usually dresses 30 players each Friday night and pieces it together with roughly 100 in his program. Palo Verde had 150 players involved this fall.

Still, Goroff sports an impressive 42-10 record since 2006 — which rivals Faircloth’s mark of 41-11 and Rost’s 45-8 — and has done so without the services of one sure-thing Division I recruit.

The Gorman squad Del Sol will face in the state finals has eight with scholarship offers from major Division I schools, making Del Sol a significant underdog.

But with Goroff at the helm, his players believe anything is possible.

“He expects a lot from us,” said Evan Weinstock, Del Sol’s senior wide receiver who has been on the varsity team three years. “He is definitely a players coach, but hard on us at the same time. He always has a good game plan and wants you to get the job done right.”

Goroff, 36, started coaching under Spencer’s watchful eye at Cimarron in the mid-1990s. He was the Spartans linebacker coach in 1998 when they beat Northern Nevada’s Elko High for the state crown.

Winning another title Saturday would be the shining moment of his career. He would dedicate the title to Spencer, who died last January from cancer.

Goroff honors Spencer’s memory by having his players wear helmet decals with the late coach’s initials “GS.”

“A lot of the things we do (at Del Sol) come from Spencer,” Goroff said. “The things we say at practice are some of the things he would say. I let them know who coach Spencer is and the live lessons he taught me.”

Goroff has led Del Sol to the last four Sunrise Regional championship games, and finally won the title last Saturday with a 20-19 victory against Basic.

It was a comeback that proved his worth as a coach, especially when it comes to making adjustments during the game. Del Sol lost top rusher Dezerick Reed two minutes into the contest and fell behind 12 points at halftime.

But Goroff stuck with his philosophy of running the ball and rode sophomore tailback Chris Marshall to the come-from-behind victory and berth in the state finals.

While Goroff is praised for orchestrating the comeback, he should also be praised for how he handled Reed’s injury. Reed begged and pleaded to re-enter the game, but Goroff refused to allow his star to play on a severely sprained ankle.

Other coaches, realizing a state championship was within reach, would have rolled the dice.

But not Goroff. Not someone who learned from one of the area’s best.

“Experience is the best teacher,” Goroff said. “Over the years you make mistakes, but you have to be smart and learn from them.”

Del Sol defensive coordinator Ryan Claridge played for two of football’s most respected coaches during his career — John Robinson at UNLV and Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots.

Claridge believes Goroff is as good as it gets.

“He gets the most out of anybody on the field,” Claridge said. “The kids know they are getting the most out of him, so they give him all they have. Everyday he helps the kids get better, not only in football but in life.”

Come Saturday, win or lose, Goroff has preached to his players to cherish the moment. There is only one high school game in Nevada this week and his team will be at the center of the excitement.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.