THE WAY THEY WERE : 10 Stories That Captured the Fancy of Orange County’s Prep World

Normally, the leading prep stories of the school year chronicle the exploits of championship football or basketball teams or record-breaking performances by individual athletes.

But the 1984-85 school season among Orange County’s high schools was anything but normal. It was a season in which school district administrators and principals made decisions that made headlines.

Significant stories broke upon the adjournment of closed-door meetings and school board sessions. Transfer and eligibility case results suddenly became as important as the final score.

This was never more evident than in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, where two of the biggest stories of the year occurred off the athletic field.

First, there was the firing and rehiring of Jim Harris, Ocean View basketball coach. Harris was relieved of his coaching duties by John Myers, school principal, in March following a three-month investigation by district officials.

Myers also announced that the Seahawks would forfeit 24 victories and relinquish their Southern Section runner-up trophy after it was decided that Lynwood transfers Ricky Butler and Desi Hazely were ineligible because of undue influence by Harris to retain them at the school.

The announcement set off a walk-out by the Ocean View students, heated vocal support by parents at school board meetings and the threat of legal action by Harris, who retained two attorneys.

Myers, backed by the school district, reinstated Harris to his position as head coach less than two months later. The unusual decision came after Myers received a letter from Harris in which Harris stated, “ . . . I was involved in a violation of CIF rules which would justify the forfeiture of the Ocean View High School boys’ basketball games for the 1984-85 season.”

But the turnaround paled in comparison to the eligibility case of Edison forward Baron Coenen and the subsequent forfeitures by the school’s basketball team.

Coenen, a transfer from Servite, was declared ineligible going into the final week of the season after it was discovered that he was not living in Edison’s district. The Chargers were forced to forfeit five league wins and dropped from second place to last following the ruling.

The opportunity to participate in the postseason playoffs was over, or was it? Two days later, league officials ruled that Edison would be allowed to compete in a four-team playoff to determine the league’s third playoff representative.

Edison had been given a reprieve. But only for a day. Southern Section officials ruled against the league’s four-team playoff and Edison was out.

The off-the-court rulings were big stories in 1984-85, but there was certainly more. Here’s a look at The Times’ top 10 Orange County high school stories of the year.

The Jim Harris Story

Harris built the program at the seven-year school from scratch and watched it progress to the point where the Seahawks advanced to the 5-A division title game this year.

But some questioned the coach’s ethics when he became the legal guardian for Lynwood sophomore transfers Butler and Hazely and moved them into his El Toro home.

Harris didn’t hide the fact the boys were living in his home and justified the relationship by pointing to their increased performance in the classroom. Never mind that the duo played integral roles in the Seahawks’ basketball success.

It appeared that the whole world came crashing down on Harris, Butler and Hazely on March 28 when Myers announced his decision to relieve Harris of his coaching duties and that the district had declared the sophomores ineligible.

The results of the district’s three-month investigation have never been made public, but it was reported that district officials based their decision on California Interscholastic Federation by-laws.

Harris maintained his innocence and he exercised his right of appeal to the Southern Section office. After meeting with Ray Plutko, section commissioner, Harris saw a change in the situation and formed a different outlook.

He drafted a letter in which he admitted he had unknowingly used undue pressure in keeping the duo at Ocean View. Myers, in turn, reinstated Harris to his position, saying, “I thought it was important that there was an admission of guilt.”

After a seven-week ordeal that had weighed heavily on his family and players, Harris emerged as the Seahawks’ coach once again.

“The longer it took, the more I thought it might be over . . . that I might never coach again at Ocean View High,” Harris said. “After going through a month and a half of no direction, I can’t believe the turn of events. I’m still numb.”

El Modena Football

El Modena’s football players had listened to the superlatives bestowed upon opponent Esperanza prior to the Southern Conference football championship, and then they decided to make a name for themselves.

The Vanguards defeated Esperanza, 26-0, in front of an estimated 8,000 fans at Santa Ana Stadium and afterward veteran Coach Bob Lester had a point to make.

“I was confident we could win, but I was the only one in Orange County who was,” Lester said. “We kept reading about favorite this and favorite that, and that Esperanza was the best team Orange County had ever had. I didn’t have to say a thing to the players all week.”

Esperanza came into the game with the county’s all-time touchdown leader, tailback Jim Farrell, but the Vanguard defense held him to 52 yards rushing. El Modena outgained the favored Aztecs, 379-201, in total yards.

Farrell was overshadowed by Vanguard running back Sean Sawyer, who had 151 yards rushing and scored twice. Sawyer’s 75-yard run to open the second half turned the game around. Quarterback Brett Johnson completed 10 of 16 passes for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Later, Lester presented a group of sportswriters with a game ball, claiming their pre-game hype was all the inspiration his team needed to win the school’s third football championship.

Mater Dei Basketball

Mater Dei became the first large-school division team to complete an undefeated season since Inglewood in 1980 when the Monarchs defeated Ocean View, 69-58, in front of 11,467 fans in the Long Beach Arena.

The Monarchs went 29-0, and Tom Lewis was named the most valuable player of the championship tournament after he scored 33 points and had 8 rebounds before fouling out with 4:29 left to play.

Mater Dei went on a 16-4 scoring spree during a four-minute span in the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. The Monarchs expanded a 34-27 lead to a 50-31 margin during the streak.

Afterward, Coach Gary McKnight and Lewis reflected upon a remarkable three-year run that had seen Mater Dei lose only five games.

“This title was better (than the 1982 championship),” McKnight said. “It’s definitely better the second time. We won it once, we lost it once and it makes you appreciate it more.”

Said Lewis: “This is kind of a sad moment, knowing this is my last high school game. But if I had it all to do over again, I’d pick the same school because I’ve had the chance to play with some great guys.”

Fountain Valley Baseball

Fountain Valley emerged as an unlikely championship contender and then found an unlikely manner in which to win the Southern Section’s 4-A division baseball title--a 3-2 victory over Camarillo at Anaheim Stadium.

The Barons, who entered the final week of regular-season play with a 5-7-1 record in the Sunset League, overcame a 2-1 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to win its first baseball title.

A crowd of 4,786 saw left-hander Don Snowden strike out 11 and ace Bob Sharpnack earned the save by getting the final out. Pinch-runner Terry Reichert scored the winning run in the sixth when Camarillo shortstop Scott Cline fielded Steve Miller’s ground ball but threw wide of first, enabling Reichert to score.

“It’s only fitting that we should fall behind and do it the hard way,” Baron Coach Tom DeKraai said. “We’ve done it that way all year. I doubt we have enough left to even celebrate.”

The unsung hero of the game was Chris Bugbee, who had lost his starting job to Miller earlier in the season. Bugbee drove

in the tying run with a pinch single in the sixth.

Recruiting of Tom Lewis

Tom Lewis, the Southern Section’s 5-A Player of the Year, after averaging 32 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, surprised many when he chose USC over Nevada Las Vegas, Syracuse and Arizona State.

Lewis cited his desire to remain in Southern California as the major factor after he was barraged with phone calls, letters and telegrams from college recruiters since his sophomore season.

Stan Morrison’s recruiting approach and some friendly advice from Bill Mulligan, UC Irvine coach, to remain in California ultimately led to Lewis’ decision.

“I could fit in at USC right away, and my chances of starting there as a freshman are better than they are elsewhere,” Lewis said. “I think people expected me to go to a big, established program such as Syracuse or UNLV, which are always in the Top 20, but I’ll probably be happier at USC.”

Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV coach, dispatched assistant Mark Warkentien to attend all of Lewis’ games during his senior season, but Lewis preferred the low-key approach.

“The reason I liked Stan was because he didn’t come after me that hard,” Lewis said. “He’d call once every few weeks and drop a letter now and then. He didn’t put a lot of pressure on me.”

Success Catches Up With David Sepulveda

He caught short passes, hitch passes and long passes. He jumped for high passes, scooped up the low passes and even caught a touchdown pass while on his back.

And when he was finished, Fullerton’s David Sepulveda had done what no other high school wide receiver had ever accomplished.

Before a small crowd at Spaulding Field in Buena Park, Sepulveda caught 26 passes for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns to establish a national prep record in a 28-0 win over Buena Park.

The previous national record was 24 receptions set by Steve Martinez of Wilson High in Los Angeles in 1977. Sepulveda also broke the Southern Section record of 20 receptions held by Richard Rodriguez of Mountain View in 1980.

Sepulveda’s quarterback, Victor Williams, downplayed his role in the record-breaking performance.

“All I did was put my hands out for the snap, get the ball, turn around and throw it to Dave,” Williams said. “That was it.”

Sepulveda also showed he’s a good catch in the big game, getting 12 receptions for 167 yards in Fullerton’s 17-7 win over La Mirada in the Central Conference championship. He finished the year with 81 receptions, the most ever by a county player.

The Servite Seven

Seven players, including four projected starters, left Servite’s basketball program during a two-month period last summer and several pointed to Coach Larry Walker as their reason for leaving.

All-Angelus League center Jaime Cardriche, point guard Mitch Brown and projected starters Rob Burrer and Kent Solomon left the program. Other defectors included Baron Coenen, Steve Balstad and Mike Meyers.

“I wasn’t really fun playing basketball there,” said Burrer, who transferred to Troy. “He (Walker) put too much pressure on us, and that’s why a lot of people folded.”

Said Balstad: “I didn’t like the way they coached at Servite and the demands they made of you.” Balstad transferred to St. John Bosco.

Cardriche and Brown resurfaced at St. Anthony in Long Beach, where they led the Saints to a co-championship in the Camino Real League.

Despite the defections, Servite regrouped to finish third in the Angelus League. Walker continued his coaching methods and even wrote on one preseason prospectus: “Punk rockers, head cases, poor grades and selfishness don’t cut it at Servite.”

Edison’s Ineligible Player

While many of the Servite Seven enjoyed success at new schools, the move made by Baron Coenen didn’t turn out so well.

Coenen had transferred to Edison, where he had helped to lead the Chargers’ basketball team to second place going into the last week of the season. But Sunset League officials ruled that Coenen was ineligible because he did not live in Edison’s district, and the Chargers were ordered to forfeit their victories.

With their playoff hopes now over, Coach Jon Borchert tried his best to take the sting out of the ruling by calling his team’s final home game against rival Fountain Valley as “our CIF playoff game” and then watched the Chargers go through the motions in a 48-46 loss.

The following day, the league’s principals met for three hours to hear an appeal by Coenen and his parents. The principals announced that Coenen would remain ineligible but Edison would remain in the playoff picture.

A four-team playoff for third place and final spot in the playoffs was announced and Borchert was somewhat relieved.

“We found out about the new ruling at the end of practice and it seemed to take some weight off the players’ shoulders,” Borchert said.

But one day later, Edison was once again out of the playoff picture when league officials discovered that only teams that were legitimately tied for third place could participate in a playoff to determine entry into the playoffs.

Thus, Westminster defeated Huntington Beach in the playoff and was the league’s third representative in the tournament. Borchert, when asked about the latest development, said, “I better not say anything that might shorten my teaching career.”

Jackie Oakley Is Pitcher Perfect

On March 4, 1985, Dena Kimble, a junior at Ocean View and a member of the Seahawks’ junior varsity softball team, was killed in a car accident on the way to school.

Four days later, Ocean View softball pitcher Jackie Oakley and her teammates dedicated the season to Kimble. What was to follow was nothing short of perfection.

Oakley compiled a 31-0 record and threw a one-hitter against Westminster for a 2-0 win on a warm Friday night at Lakewood’s Mayfair Park to lead the Seahawks (32-0) to the Southern Section’s 4-A division title.

By her seventh game, Oakley had damaged ligaments and tendons in her right index finger and found it difficult to grip a softball. Her doctor recommended she stop pitching. Her coach and mother, Sarah, told her to stop.

But Oakley went on to strike out 388 batters, record 22 shutouts and allowed only three earned runs in 216 innings. Oakley reflected upon her remarkable season.

“When they told me to stop, that’s when I thought about Dena,” she said. “I didn’t want anything in my life to end incomplete. When I was done, I wanted to make sure I was finished, that I had accomplished what I set out to do. Dena didn’t get a chance to do that, but I wanted to make sure I did.”

Brian Blutreich’s Feats

Meet directors of the state high school track and field championships at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento were breathing a heavy sigh of relief once Capistrano Valley thrower Brian Blutreich had completed his throws in the discus event.

Directors were concerned that Blutreich would hit the fence on a fly or perhaps clear the 12-foot tall hedges that border the fence. How would they measure a record-breaking throw?

But while Blutreich came up short of hitting the fence, he did establish a meet record at 203-feet 4-inches, which was good for the state championship. Blutreich also won the state shot put with a meet record of 68-feet 4-inches.