Montclair Prep Players Cleared in CIF Probe

The last of several Montclair Prep football players whose athletic eligibility had been questioned has been cleared following an investigation by the CIF Southern Section, the school’s principal and a Southern Section official said Friday.

Bill Huston, a transfer from Chatsworth, was given approval to continue playing football, Montclair Principal V.E. Simpson said. The eligibility of seven or eight other players had been approved three weeks ago.

Don Thomas, an assistant principal at El Camino Real High, had sent a letter to the Southern Section’s headquarters questioning the eligibility of at least three former El Camino Real students who now attend Montclair Prep.

According to a California Interscholastic Federation rule, a student who transfers from one school to another--public or private--without changing residence, is ineligible for athletic competition for one year, unless the student receives eligibility approval from both principals.

A Southern Section official visited the Montclair campus three weeks ago and talked with many players. During that visit the official became convinced of the eligibility of all of the players except Huston, Simpson said.

Simpson said that he and Huston’s mother met Thursday with Southern Section administrator Dean Crowley and proved Huston’s eligibility.

“We are very pleased with this,” Simpson said. “I was reasonably sure the (Southern Section) would clear us all along.”