2026 Prep Football Summer Series: Calipatria Hornets

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - Calipatria was unable to follow-up its 2024 Division V-AA championship with another strong season, but a change at the top of the program is brining in more hope to get back into playoff contention.

Ray Vandiver takes over as head coach after 16 years as an assistant coach at Brawley, and joins his two brothers on the Hornets coaching staff. Taking into consideration what they informed him, while starting with a clean slate for everyone, Vandiver is trying to reinvent the culture of Calipatria's football program.

"I was consistent," Vandiver said about what he's bringing over from his time at Brawley. "Kids could count on me to show up every day [and] be in the weight room. You know, organize extra workouts every time we needed... and that's kind of what I wanna bring to [Calipatria], so they can see the consistency that they have someone who's gonna be there for them and that we're gonna keep showing up, and always have an opportunity for them to improve themselves... [It's] bigger than football. We're not talking about football. What we're really trying to do is build true young men of character, and then the winning will happen."