By CAROLINA SANCHEZ

On Tuesday, December 12, longtime REV football coach Kurt Bruich announced that this semester was his last as REV’s football coach. He will start the new year as the Citrus Valley head football coach.

Year after year Coach B, as he is colloquially known, has been a stable on REV’s campus. He lead Link Crew and the football team. And every year he is one of four teachers that announce the names of students graduating. Many on campus saw him as a father figure, whether they knew him personally or not.

For the 16 years he was head coach, he has been able to take the REV football team to 11 CBL championships, countless Smudge Pot and Orange Bowl victories, a CIF Inland Division title, a Southern California Regional title and a State Championship. He took a losing-record team to a State Championship. He has sacrificed countless nights on the makeshift football field on REV’s lower fields, filled countless holes and has helped generations of boys become young men.

As expected, his exit has had mixed reactions. Students, parents, and alumni were surprised at the announcement. Many football players felt betrayed that this man was leaving, and not only leaving, but leaving for a cross-town rival. While some called him a hypocrite for leaving the family he has made, others recognize that he left for a football program that has more support and, possibly for a team that has a real football field. Senior Mathew Whiteley said that “he and his coaching staff deserve a stadium.” He left for a team that he can put all his focus on. He will not have to worry about kids being hurt on hidden hole like senior and starting kicker Duncan Glover did as a freshman. And many alumni have called him the “Greatest of All Time” because of all of the sacrifices he has made.

Now the question that is being asked is how is the football team going to continue without its fearless leader. Is his coaching staff going to follow him or are they going to stay? Who is going to take over the program? Who is going to fill the void on REV’s campus?

Coach Bruich declined to comment.