by Mike Chamberlin

For many Tritons, near and far, Fridays are reserved for football. The near fans have the luxury of attending a San Clemente High School football game at Thalassa Stadium. But for the thousands of SCHS alum spread across the country, the game is only a click of the internet away. Ironically, for 20 years, I was a TV Sportscaster in Phoenix, Arizona, and while preparing my nightly scripts for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Coyotes, and ASU, I’d always have Triton football games playing in the background on my computer on Friday nights. I graduated from San Clemente High School in 1966, so I always had a natural curiosity for Triton football.

 

Known affectionately as SCHSFNL (San Clemente High School Friday Night Live), it allows Triton football fans to not only tune in to all games, but also to interact with other fans via the internet. This broadcast is the brainchild of Rich Corder, who himself has an impressive football background. Rich played Pop Warner Football and high school football in San Diego County in the 1970s. His love for the game then led him to coaching. “I started a San Diego North County Catholic League for football and eventually coached football, baseball and basketball for three years at St. John’s Catholic School in Encinitas.”

But football was more of a hobby than a vocation.  In 1979 it was San Clemente’s good fortune to land Rich as a member of their Police Department, which later became the Orange County Sheriff’s department. He found time during his police years to coach the SCHS Freshman football team. Eventually he retired from the force as a sergeant in 2006 and had time on his hands but he kept up with the love of his life…coaching. In 2021 he retired from coaching completely, after 31 years, which led to the next chapter in his life…broadcasting.

 That’s when Rich and fellow freshman coaches Rodney Runolfson and now deceased Ben Villa, came up with a strategy to broadcast Triton football games via the internet. In 2004 they debuted the first ever SCHSFNL. It was rugged at first and only audio of the games were broadcast. In 2007 they took the next leap and introduced live video to the broadcast. “We currently have games stored on our site from 2007-2021. They are also available on YouTube.” He added, “So many times I hear from players or family members that they enjoy going on our site to watch old games. It’s like going back in time for them.”

So now, like clockwork, you can tune in to SCHSFNL to catch the latest Triton action on Friday nights. He now teams with Frank Kling, who Rich refers to as “Coach” during the broadcasts. “Frank Played football at Livingston High School in New Jersey, played at Michigan Tech, and has a ton of football coaching experience.” As it turns out, Rich calls the offensive side of the ball and Frank handles the defensive side. And somehow it works perfectly. They’ve also had the privilege to cover and broadcast several Tritons that have gone on to NFL careers like Travis Wilson and Sam Darnold. 

But what makes this broadcast work is the local feel it brings to games. It’s common to hear Rich bark out the names of local sponsors. “Every year the costs of broadcasting rises and it’s our sponsors that keep us going and we’re always looking for new sponsors or donations!” And another way to keep it local, SCHSFNL now has mentored a San Clemente High School student to assist with the football broadcast. “This is a great opportunity for a student to contribute to his or her high school football program.” Rich even supplies transportation and a small stipend at the end of the season.

I couldn’t let Rich go without asking him his prediction for the upcoming season, “We are looking forward to another great season of varsity football under the leadership of Head Coach Jamie Ortiz.” So, Triton Nation, let’s get ready for football. Just head to your computer or personal device and type in www.schsfnl.com. I’ll meet you there and we can chat throughout the game and listen to Rich Corder, “The Voice of the Tritons.”