![\"Edison](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5029.jpeg\" "\\"Edison")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Edison High coach Johnny Sears at practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
ANTHONY GALAVIZ<\/p>\n
agalaviz@fresnobee.com<\/p>\n
![\"Edison](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786290490_46_IMG_5029.jpeg\" "\\"IMG_5029.jpeg\\"")
Edison High coach Johnny Sears at practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
Johnny Sears is entering his third season as the head football coach at Edison High.<\/p>\n
The first two years haven\u2019t always been smooth sailing for Sears (1-19), but he understood that building a successful program wouldn\u2019t happen overnight.<\/p>\n
Still, Sears has remained optimistic about his Tigers heading into each season, and this year is no different.<\/p>\n
Edison returns several key players, giving Sears plenty to build around. That includes transfer quarterback Vernon Lacy, who previously played at McLane.<\/p>\n
Lacy\u2019s availability, however, remains uncertain. The Central Section office still must determine whether he is eligible to play this season under transfer rules.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the outcome, Sears believes his program is headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n
The Bee spoke with Sears about his team\u2019s growth, the quarterback situation, the importance of building a sense of family at Edison and what has him excited about the season ahead.<\/p>\n
What have you seen from your team as you head into Week 0?<\/p>\n
A: For the most part, I\u2019ve seen growth \u2014 growth from last year to this year. If you rewind a year, we weren\u2019t dissecting as much, we weren\u2019t as detailed. Their numbers are a little bit better. My young guys are a year older, so that definitely helps.<\/p>\n
From an offensive standpoint, having our guys in another year of a fresh offense, or a second year of the offense, and just the younger guys getting older, understanding the expectations, understanding what it takes to play at 7:30, understanding the division and what it takes and how our league is set up, and just knowing the importance of the fall season.<\/p>\n
It ain\u2019t about the summer, it ain\u2019t about the offseason. It\u2019s about how that accumulates to your regular season. So I\u2019ve seen a lot of growth, and that\u2019s kind of the main thing I\u2019ve been trying to push.<\/p>\n
Q: After what happened last year, are you using that as motivation heading into this season?<\/p>\n
A: Yeah, yeah. We use that as fuel. We want to look forward, probably getting pulled from last year \u2014 things like how we need to get better, what aspects of the game we need to get better at as a team and as a coaching staff.<\/p>\n
So we used last year as fuel and something to learn from, to make better decisions.<\/p>\n
Q: How are you feeling about the makeup of your team so far, especially the size and numbers?<\/p>\n
A: Yeah, for sure. Slowly getting bigger. The numbers are slowly creeping in. I\u2019m retaining a lot more kids, which is a great help. This is my number one goal, and so that\u2019s starting to show. I\u2019m really happy with that.<\/p>\n
Q: What\u2019s the quarterback situation right now? Do you know who your starter is going to be?<\/p>\n
A: So right now, it\u2019s still up in the air. That\u2019s one of the main keys to our team. This is the waiting process for us, but we have to use the next-man-up mentality.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re also preparing for the worst-case scenario. In this case, we have our guy. Worst case, we\u2019ll do it by committee and play them.<\/p>\n
Q: Is the quarterback situation still waiting on the section office\u2019s decision?<\/p>\n
A: Right, right, right.<\/p>\n
Q: That\u2019s a tough situation.<\/p>\n
A: Yeah, man, it\u2019s a sticky situation. I hate for any kid to go through this. Right now, we\u2019re in high school, so it\u2019s family and kids\u2019 choices. I would like more people to think that way and let them kind of deal with their choices, not interfere.<\/p>\n
But, you know, it is what it is. We got his back, we\u2019re in his corner, so he\u2019s home, though. We\u2019re all right.<\/p>\n
Q: You\u2019ve got a talented group of kids here, including some of the players you mentioned and sent me on the players to watch list. You\u2019ve got to be pretty excited about what you have.<\/p>\n
A: Oh, for sure, for sure. A lot of these kids, I\u2019ve known since like the fifth and sixth grade, sometimes even earlier than that. A lot of kids came my first year as head coach.<\/p>\n
So, again, to see the growth, to see the work being put in, to see them buying into the standard here, and to really understand what Edison really means as a whole \u2014 I\u2019m excited.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m excited because I feel like, no, they\u2019re my kids, but they\u2019re not my kids, but they\u2019re a part of me. I\u2019m trying to get them to understand they are a reflection of the coaches. So what they show on film is what we\u2019re trying to produce.<\/p>\n
Q: Just like the back of the jersey says?<\/p>\n
A: Family.<\/p>\n
Right. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re bringing back to Edison \u2014 a sense of family, a sense of community.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why we\u2019re here today having this Black and Gold scrimmage. That\u2019s why we\u2019re trying to get the kids to understand that it\u2019s a whole village that\u2019s behind you.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just what you\u2019re reading in the news clips or what you see on social media. You have a community behind you, and they love you to death. We gotta put something out there for them to be proud about.<\/p>\n
Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n
Anthony Galaviz<\/a><\/p>\n The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n Anthony Galaviz writes about breaking news\/sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He\u2019s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology.\u00a0
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