Ray Fenton was hired to be the new football coach at Los Alamitos on Thursday.

Fenton has coached at Fountain Valley the past three seasons. At Los Alamitos he replaces John Barnes, Orange County's career leader in coaching wins, who retired after the 2015 season.

Fenton said Los Alamitos was attractive because it is the only high school in the Los Alamitos Unified School District.

“All of the junior high schools feed into the one high school,” he said. “So it’s got a small-town feel to it. That’s helped Los Alamitos be so successful, because it’s in a one-high school district.”

Fenton, 52, said leaving Fountain Valley is difficult.

“I love the kids at Fountain Valley,” he said. “It breaks my heart that I’m not going to coach them anymore. It’s really a great place to work.”

Los Alamitos finished 5-6 overall in 2015. The Griffins were third in the Sunset League with a 3-2 league record. They lost to Chino Hills in the first round of the West Valley Division playoffs.

Fenton has a history of rebuilding football programs. Cypress was 2-8 overall and 0-5 in Fenton’s first season there, 2005. The following season, the Centurions went 10-3 and reached the CIF-Southern Section Southern Division semifinals.

Fenton teaches physical education at Fountain Valley. He hopes the Huntington Beach Union High School District will release him from his contract so that he can become a PE teacher at Los Alamitos starting Jan. 25. Otherwise, he will continue to teach at Fountain Valley and joins the staff at Los Alamitos this fall.

Fountain Valley was 8-12 overall and 2-8 in the Sunset League over the 2011-12 seasons. In ‘13, the Barons were 7-4 overall and 3-2 in league.