Maranatha High School, celebrating its 46^th anniversary as a leading preparatory high school in the greater Los Angeles area, boasts a long tradition of exceptional athletes among its student body. The growth of Maranatha’s athletic programs has enabled graduates to excel in athletics on the college level. Nearly seventy percent of Maranatha students play at least one high school sport. Athletic Director Brian DeHaan believes, “Students who have the commitment of an athletic program also excel in academics and develop into outstanding young men and women. We encourage all students who have the desire to participate in a competitive sport – and many students participate in more than one sport each year.”

University of Texas, El Paso, student Ian Campbell graduated from Maranatha High School in 2008. Ian says he didn’t really know how to play football when he started high school, but wanted to enjoy the high school football experience. After four years on Maranatha’s football field, Campbell went to Mount San Antonio College, where he was recruited to play at the University of Texas in El Paso. Ian is now ranked third in the National All-American list as a punter. “I credit my time at Maranatha for giving me a strong foundation and teaching me how to prioritize what is important while pursuing athletic excellence,” he said.

It is this kind of high school experience that brought Cody Keith ’10 from a public school in North Carolina to Pasadena, California half way through his junior year so he could play his senior year at Maranatha. After visiting the school, Keith says he knew that was where he needed to be. “That year at Maranatha made all the difference for me,” Keith said. He is now red shirting his freshman year at East Carolina University.

“At most high schools you don't have teachers who you would want to talk to on a regular basis, not just about how you are doing in school but all aspects of your life,” Keith said. Keith's unusual quest to be a college quarterback caught the attention of a coach at Chester Academy in Connecticut. In an unusual twist of events, after graduating from Maranatha Keith turned down his college football scholarship offer at Tulane University in Louisiana and enrolled in Chester Academy to be the quarterback for his fifth year of high school. This move ultimately was the game changer he needed. That season he broke six state records, tied a national record and the offers from colleges around the country poured in. “If I didn't have the Maranatha experience I would not be where I am today,” Keith says. “I would not have been able to showcase my throwing ability to get to me to the next point.”

Matt Schilz came to Maranatha only to find himself injured and barely able to play his first two years of high school. After being encouraged by his coaches to pave his own way to the next level, Schilz spent summers at football camps in the Midwest where he honed his skills and ultimately made the valuable coaching connection that landed him the job as quarterback at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He says the commitment of his coaching team at Maranatha guided him from the bench in Pasadena to the Manning Award Watch List as a sophomore at Bowling. “Just last week one of my coaches from Maranatha came to visit me and see me play. That kind of care and dedication to your players is very rare,” Schilz said.

Kyle Delahooke, class of 2007 and recent Naval Academy graduate, says Maranatha raises students to live for God and equips them with the foundation to excel – not just in athletics – but in life. Delahooke says he counts himself blessed for having the support of his friendships and mentorships from high school to take with him as he entered the Naval Academy where he played football.

“As a freshman at the Academy I could look back on where I came from and know I had the support and foundation I needed. If I didn't have that it would have been very hard to begin to establish that on my own in college,” Delahooke said. “Moving to the East Coast for college was difficult at first but I had an incredible support system and was well prepared for life after high school.”

While attending the Naval Academy, Delahooke averaged 42.4 yards per punt over his career, ranking him second in the Navy record book. He also was a candidate for the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the nation's most outstanding punter each year.

For Delahooke it is exciting to see how Maranatha is growing and becoming less of a “best kept secret” among college preparatory high schools. He says the difference between his Maranatha story and what current players are living now is the competitors they face. “The scale is just so different. Maranatha is growing exponentially and is now a household name,” Delahooke said. “They are now playing solid teams from much larger schools that we would never have been able to play even a few years ago.”