By Dave Caldwell
Hart High School head football coach Mike Herrington has been named the State of California’s Best High School Football Coach in a poll conducted by USA Today and voted on by fans.

Herrington received 85,385 votes, or 47.993% of all votes cast. Former Canyon football coach and current Santa Margarita coach Harry Welch finished second in the voting with 77,475, or 43.547%. Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks coach Kevin Rooney, who lives in Santa Clarita, came in third.

Herrington has been the head coach at Hart for 25 years.

Other coaches nominated included Bob Johnson (Mission Viejo), Bruce Rollinson (Mater Dei), John Barnes (Los Alamitos), Lou Farrar (Charter Oak) and Paul Knox (Dorsey).

America’s Best High School Football Coach competition now takes the 51 state and District of Columbia winners to a regional competition.

Go to www.usatodayhss.com to vote in the regional round which begins at noon (ET) Oct. 9 and ends at noon (ET) Oct. 18. The eight regional winners move onto the national round, which starts at noon (ET) Oct. 21 and ends at noon (ET) Oct. 29. The champion is crowned based on most votes in the final round.

The athletic department of the winning coach will receive $2,000. Second through fifth places also receive cash prizes for the athletic departments: second ($1,000), third ($500), fourth ($250) and fifth ($100). All eight finalists receive banners for their schools.