Football: Private-public school feuding in Santa Clarita Valley

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A complaint by Santa Clarita Valley football coaches that Mission Hills Alemany engaged in undue influence by holding an on-campus meeting with 17 youth players and their parents in December does not appear to be a violation of Southern Section rules, according to Commissioner Jim Staunton.

The meeting was put together by a parent who runs a youth team in Castaic. The meeting was run by Alemany’s community outreach representative and attended by the athletic director and principal, which is legal under Southern Section rules. Alemany claims it didn’t know going in it was a team of youth players, which is why Staunton doesn’t see it as a recruiting effort.

There may have been a ‘technical’ violation that occurred when football Coach Dean Herrington dropped by briefly to answer two questions while working security at a basketball game.

Staunton has urged Principal Frank Ferry to meet with school officials in the Santa Clarita Valley in an effort to open lines of communication. Alemany has been drawing scrutiny with the recent hiring of Hart defensive coordinator Rick Herrington, Dean’s brother, as an assistant coach. The school has been aggressively trying to build up its football program.

-- Eric Sondheimer

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