PREP FOOTBALL
Los Lunas set to bring in Manzano's Johnston as new football coach
Longtime coach started career at Artesia, a rival in his new district
It’s taken nearly 2½ months, but Los Lunas High School on Wednesday hired a new head football coach.
Stephen Johnston coached the Manzano Monarchs for five seasons, but he is leaving Albuquerque for Los Lunas.
“I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made since I’ve been here at Manzano, but when you look at the grand scheme of things … Los Lunas is a powerful tradition and they have high expectations of success,” said Johnston, 39.
Johnston went 14-38 in five seasons with the Monarchs, though the last two seasons, when Manzano had dropped down to Class 4A football, were far more successful with identical records of 5-6 each year.
Johnston replaces Greg Henington, who was unexpectedly fired in mid-December. Henington has since landed an offensive assistant coach position at Class 6A defending state champion Cleveland.
With a new realignment, Los Lunas, which lost to Las Cruces in last year’s 6A quarterfinals, is dropping down to Class 5A along with the likes of Artesia. Which is where Johnston coached before he came to Manzano.
“(Los Lunas) has the environment, the infrastructure, the tools, that any coach would want to take advantage of,” Johnston said.
He surely leaves Manzano in a better position than when he arrived, with success at the 4A level the Monarchs could not achieve as a 5A program.
Johnston said he’ll spend a little more time at Manzano tying up some academic loose ends before he makes the move to Los Lunas.
As for how Manzano proceeds, athletic director Matt Espinosa did not return a message Wednesday seeking clarification.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.
