SMC head football coach named coach of the year

Gifford Lindheim, head coach of the Santa Monica College football team, was named Pacific Conference Coach of the Year, as announced by the Southern California Football Association. It is Lindheim’s third consecutive season winning the award and he has helped mold the Corsairs into a perennial powerhouse team since taking over as head coach back in 2009.

In addition to Lindheim’s honors, eight players on the team were rewarded with All-conference honors.

Sophomore offensive linemen Dontae Levingston and Maurquice Shikir, sophomore running back Eric Kyle, and freshman quarterback Jerry McConico were named to the conference offensive first team. Both SMC and Los Angeles Pierce College had four players apiece named to the team. Pierce finished second to SMC in conference standings.

The Corsairs also had four players, the most out of any team in the conference, named to the defensive first team. Linebackers Daveed Carter and Taylor McDaniel, and defensive backs Qujuan Floyd and Dejuan Butler took home defensive team honors. Defense had been a staple of the team all season long, and Lindheim called it, “the best in SMC history.”

The Corsairs finished the season at 8-2, 7-0 in conference play, winning their third straight Pacific Conference title and ending the season on a 20 game conference winning streak.

Due to a recruiting violation, SMC was ineligible for a postseason bowl game.