Backstrom to Coach Football at Magnolia

Former El Modena High football Coach Bill Backstrom said Wednesday that he has been hired as coach at Magnolia.

Backstrom, 49, replaces Bill Friedrich, who resigned at the end of last season.

“I like the look of the kids at the school and I like the league,” Backstrom said. “There’s a lot of veteran coaches in the Orange League and that’s right up my alley. If you can get out of that league and into the playoffs, you have a good shot at doing well because of all the good coaching you’ve faced.”

Backstrom spent 19 years in coaching at El Modena. In eight years as football coach he had a 46-33-1 record and won or shared three Century League titles.

WRESTLING

Naomi Barraza has resigned as Orange coach after one season, according to Athletic Director Ed Howard.

Barraza left to complete her education at Chapman. Orange was winless in dual-meet competition this season.

BASKETBALL

Top-seeded Mater Dei High has requested that its Southern Section boys’ Division I-A quarterfinal playoff game Friday with Victor Valley be moved from Hesperia High to a bigger site to accommodate a large group of spectators that Monarch officials expect to make the trip from Orange County.