The Santa Rosa ISD school board approved Joe Marichalar to be the next football coach for the Warriors on Monday.
Marichalar got his first head coaching job at his alma mater, Edcouch-Elsa, where he was an all-state linebacker. He spent five years leading the Yellowjackets, and he accumulated a 37-21 record, won a district championship in his debut season in 2013 and reached the third round of the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.
He was reassigned following a 5-5 finish in 2017. Marichalar went on to be the head coach/athletic coordinator at Donna North and went 0-20 in two seasons. He was coaching at Weslaco East during the 2020-21 school year.
Marichalar replaces Hector Ayala, who spent four seasons at the helm in Santa Rosa. The Warriors went 16-21 during that span, including a 1-3 mark in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.
It’s going to be a quick transition for Marichalar with the start of the UIL football season set for Monday. Santa Rosa is scheduled to open its season at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Lyford, and the District 16-3A Division II slate begins Sept. 24 at home against Odem.
