Football coach Mike Parsons leaving Modesto Christian for Clovis West

Modesto Christian football coach Mike Parsons took the Crusaders to the highest level last season, a 15-0 record and a state championship.

What happened Monday guaranteed it won't happen again.

Parsons, whose prolific wing-T offense allowed the Crusaders to average nearly 50 points per game and turned local star Isaiah Burse into a sought-after Division I recruit, was tabbed as the new head coach at Clovis West.

Parsons will follow a formality that will have him interview with Clovis Unified assistant superintendents Jeanne Hatfield and Steve France, and district superintendent David Cash before being expected to gain final approval from the district school board Feb. 10.

Parsons' departure is just one of many that will be felt by the Crusaders' program. Burse, receiver Kevin Roya and a host of other front-line players will graduate this spring, and the new head coach will have a laundry list of on-field positions to fill.

The never-quite-satisfied Golden Eagles, who have gone through four coaches in the last four seasons, have been pursuing Parsons almost since the Crusaders won their championship in mid-December.

Parsons visited the campus two weeks ago and impressed the Golden Eagles' administration with his football prowess, and he was the Golden Eagles' first and only choice.

"We're coming home," said Parsons, 63-13 in six years at MC. "With the state championship game and everything, the hits keep on coming."

MC capped its season by beating Parker of San Diego 44-40 in the CIF Small Schools bowl on Dec. 18 in Carson.

Running a modified wing-T offense out of a shotgun formation behind Burse, the Crusaders averaged 49 points a game. Interestingly, Burse told The Bee last week that he will sign a national letter of intent to play in the fall for Fresno State, which is just two miles from Clovis West.

Parsons will be the fifth coach in five years and eighth in 13 at Clovis West. The Golden Eagles' program has been as successful -- eight Central Section titles since 1985 -- as it has been unstable at the top.

"Most of my family lives in the Madera, Chowchilla and Fresno area," he said. "I have no aspirations to coach college or leave the state. I've been told Clovis West is the best football job in the Central Valley."

Parsons, in the eyes of Eagles players, apparently emerged as the clear favorite from a two-day, CIF-approved audition on campus involving eight coaches last week.

Each candidate, under observation by Clovis West area leader Hatfield, principal Ben Drati and athletic director Joe Aiello, executed 45-minute practices that included, among other things, a running play and passing play. Parsons, the last of the eight, arrived with a state championship game bag and his own equipment, ranging from balls to cones.

That wasn't lost on players.

"He got down to business," said running back Kendal Brock, who will return as a senior next fall. "I knew coming in he was a great coach, and when he was out there, I knew he was the guy for the job."