Buhach Colony High names new football coach. His actions at Disneyland made him a hero
The Buhach Colony High School football program is staying within to fill its head coaching vacancy.
Former assistant Matt Granado, 39, was introduced as the new head coach on Monday.
Granado, who teaches math at BC, takes over for former coach Jerry Dietz, who stepped down in March to spend more time with his family after three seasons as head coach.
“I’m excited to build upon what has already been built here,” said Granado, who graduated in 2002. “I think we’ve got talent and I’m eager to get to work.”
Granado has coached the past four years in the Thunder program, spending time as the freshmen head coach and as a varsity offensive assistant. He also coached at Atwater High, spending time at all three levels.
Disneyland hero
Granado drew national attention when he stepped in to help break up a fight at Disneyland in 2019 that was captured in a video that went viral. The video registered over 2 million views on YouTube and gained national news media attention.
“There’s kids around, there’s family around, and I believe nobody should ever put their hands on a woman,” Granado told the Sun-Star after the incident. “I was brought up that way. It had to be stopped. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t thinking a whole lot. I just had to stop it.”
It’s that type of character that makes Buhach Colony athletic director Kevin Navarra say he believes they have the right person to run their program.
“For us it makes sense because you look at Matt as someone who builds relationships with kids, he’s built connections with our coaches on campus and he has roots in the community,” Navarra said.
One of Granado’s first messages for the kids in the program is they have to take care of business in the classroom.
“We want them to be a positive influence on and off campus,” Granado said. “We want to prepare them to be men of great character.”
Granado says the Thunder won’t change much defensively. They’ll still stay in a 3-4 defense and play aggressively. Offensively, he said they’ll stay in the same fly offense, but they will attempt to throw the ball more and spread the offense out to get their athletes in space.
“I was us to be known for our physicality,” Granado said. “I want our players to be technicians and execute everything we practice. I know it won’t happen 100% of the time.”
Granado said he got into coaching after watching the impact his father had as a football coach.
“I watched the bonds he created with kids,” he said. “I saw how he affected the lives of young kids and I wanted to do the same.”
