Preps : Amat’s Patricio Takes Walnut Job

Jim Patricio, who in the last six seasons returned Bishop Amat to the football status it enjoyed in the late 1960s, has resigned to accept the head coaching position at Walnut High School.

Patricio, who had a 49-19-1 record and led Bishop Amat to the Big Five Conference Final in 1983, said the decision wasn’t easy.

“There were a lot of factors to consider but in the end I had to look at the future and financial security,” Patricio, 34, said. “I have been involved with Catholic schools all my life. So it was difficult to leave. When the position opened up I looked at two things--a quality academic program and quality people running it. Walnut has both.

“But it’s hard because I have so many nice memories. And all of them stem from the kids. One thing I’ll remember is that for the first time in the history of the school we beat St. Paul three years in a row.”

Patricio will need all his memories since Walnut has won only four games in the last two seasons. Its last winning season was in 1980 when the school went 8-2.

“It will be a challenge,” he said. “But that’s what makes life interesting.”

Coach of the Year in the Southern Section has to be Mater Dei’s Gary McKnight, who continues to win a five-man game with basically a two-man team.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the talented duo is composed of 6-7 All-American Tom Lewis and aggressive 6-6 forward Mike Mitchell, who has already signed with Fresno State.

In a 56-52 victory over St. Bernard last week, Lewis scored 35 points and Mitchell added 14 and dominated the backboards.

“Hey, we tried to deny Lewis the ball and he still gets 35,” St. Bernard Coach James McClune. “That’s a tribute to him and to his ability. He’s a great ballplayer. But when you think you’ve got him under control that’s when Mitchell can come up with a big play.

“We felt we could let the other three guys alone. We just came up a little short.”

The Monarchs, No. 1 team in The Times’ Southern Section poll, are off to a 15-0 start.

The best five-man teams in the area are Crenshaw (7-0) in the City and Glendale (12-0) in the Southern Section.

Glendale went 25-0 during the summer, including a victory over Mater Dei. But Glendale Coach Steve Keith was quick to concede that his team was less than impressive in a 60-45 win over Servite last Friday.

“It was ugly all right,” Keith said. “Kind of like a trip to the dentist. But when you are a good team, you do enough to win.”

Glendale is led by guard Rich Grande, who will attend USC next fall and Jan Svoboda, who is headed for Cal. But Friday, the player who turned on the crowd was Joe Mulcahey--first with an impressive slam dunk, and then again when his second dunk attempt was foiled by the rim.

“That was pretty funny,” said Mulcahey, who is a 4.0 student. “No, I wasn’t embarrassed. I was more surprised than anything. I wasn’t expecting the pass and I got underneath and knew I was too close. I had to go up though. There was no place else to go.”

Prep Notes

Hollywood is seeded No. 1 in the 16-team City soccer playoffs that begin Thursday. Hollywood will meet the winner of today’s wild-card game between Venice and Roosevelt. Jefferson, the defending champion, opens plays Thursday against Chatsworth, the team it beat for the title last year. . . . Michelle Carter of Magnolia is off to a fast start, averaging nearly 37 points a game. The Southern Section record of 37.5 was set in 1980-’81 by then Riverside Poly star Cheryl Miller. . . . According to Rob Fernas of the Daily Breeze, the potential specter of Aaron Emanuel at USC, and the presence of Gaston Green at UCLA may push Culver City’s talented running back Carnell Lake into the waiting arms of Cal and Coach Joe Kapp. Lake, who was injured in the fifth game of the season, is a 6-1, 195-pounder who runs the 40 in 4.6. . . . He didn’t compete at a big school, but Melodyland’s Scott Britt, a rugged linebacker and the defensive Player of the Year in the Olympic League, is drawing serious attention from the Ivy League and several schools in the Western Athletic Conference. One scout compares him to the Chicago Bears’ Gary Fencik who starred at Yale.