Aaron Souza took over as head coach of the Orestimba Warriors football team in 2010, quickly lifting the moribund program out of its decades-long doldrums and taking it to the brink of a Sac-Joaquin Section championship.

But it will be up to somebody else to finish that journey and secure the school’s first championship banner, with Souza announcing this week that he’s stepping aside to pursue an assistant principal position offered to him by the OHS administration.

The move requires approval by the Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District board of trustees, which could take up the matter at its June 9 meeting at the McConnell Center, 1388 Patchett Drive.

“I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity,” said Souza, the school’s all-time winningest coach with a career record of 101-61. “This is something I’ve been looking at, and keeping my eye on, for the past few years. It’s time for a new challenge in my education career.”

Souza, a 2002 graduate of Orestimba, went on to play football at Modesto Junior College and Menlo College before returning to Newman in 2006 to begin his teaching career, which has included stops at Hunt Elementary School and Sierra Vista.

“Fifteen years as a coach is grueling,” said NCLUSD Superintendent Justin Pruett. “He’s created an incredible staff and a program that players look forward to being a part of. He brought together the whole football community in this town. It’s been incredible.”

Souza took the Warriors to the playoffs in his first year at the helm, snapping a 20-year playoff drought. Five years after that, Souza led Orestimba to the first playoff victory in school history. In all, he guided the Warriors to 11 playoff postseason berths, four appearances in the section semifinals, and one trip to the championship game.

“I still plan on going to all the games and being active behind the scenes,” said Souza. “I dedicated a big part of my life to making this program respectable and consistent. We worked hard to make Orestimba a well-known name in the region. So, I’m not just going to sit home on Friday nights and watch TV.”

The Warriors twice came within a whisker of reaching the section final — losing 17-14 to Amador (Sutter Creek) in 2016, and falling 21-17 to eventual state champion Hughson in 2022 — before finally advancing to the title game in 2023, where they lost 35-14 to Ripon Christian.

Souza’s teams went 10-2, 11-1, 10-2 between 2015 and 2017, while going a perfect 21-0 in Southern League play during that stretch.