The Preps / Scott Howard-Cooper : Fagans and Arason Are Being Honored by Sports Administrators

The National Federation of State High School Associations, the administrative organization for interscholastic sports and activities, is holding its annual convention this week in Anaheim with an exchange of ideas and workshops on everything from the use of computers in prep sports to female athletic directors to drug and alcohol awareness.

The 2,000 people who have come from throughout the United States and parts of Canada--according to organizers, the largest gathering ever for one of these events--will also hear John Wooden, Vic Braden and Rev. Robert Schuller, among others. And they are taking time to honor their own, including two local administrators.

One of them is Ken Fagans, who in a 10-year coaching career led Compton’s basketball team to a 248-23 record that includes a stretch of 53 straight victories, and has served as Southern Section commissioner. During his tenure, the organization more than doubled in size, going from 218 schools in 1954 to 458 in 1975.

A member of the California Coaches Hall of Fame, he was one of seven given the award for distinguished service Monday.

Today, Larry Arason, the director of athletics of the Santa Ana Unified School District, will be one of six awarded national federation citations. He is a past president of both the Orange County and California State Athletic Directors associations, and has officiated Southern Section finals in football, basketball, baseball and track. He worked the 1984 Olympics as a lane crew chief in track.

John Youngblood, the supervisor of athletics for the Arlington, Va., Public Schools, received the organization’s highest honor, the award of merit. He is the sixth person ever to receive it.

Looking back: Critiquing the September preseason football poll. First, the Southern Section.

1. LONG BEACH POLY--Lost to Long Beach Millikan in the regular-season finale and tied Huntington Beach Edison for the Big Five Conference title, finishing 11-1-1.

2. FONTANA--Finished 8-4, but the losses were a forfeit of a 38-0 win over Huntington Beach Ocean View in the second game of the season because of the use of an ineligible player, to San Gorgonio by five points and to Riverside Poly by four. The latter two defeats were suffered in the Citrus Belt League, one of the three or four toughest around this season. Fontana was knocked out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals by Long Beach Poly.

3. HUNTINGTON BEACH EDISON--To say people thought the Chargers were overrated after losing to El Modena of Orange in the season opener would be an understatement. One week, they were No. 1 in the Orange County Sportswriters Assn. poll, and the next did not receive a vote. But they lost only one more game all season, that against Westminster in a Sunset League game, and were playing especially well at the end. Tied Long Beach Poly in the title game at Anaheim Stadium to finish 11-2-1.

4. LA PUENTE BISHOP AMAT--The Lancers played the waiting game and moved up to third and then second in the rankings. Long Beach Poly’s loss made them the No. 1 team in the final regular-season poll. After going undefeated in the Angelus League, the toughest from top to bottom in the City or Southern Section, lost to Marina in the Big Five semifinals and finished 11-1.

5. CLAREMONT--Lost to Chino Don Lugo by six points and never made it back in the top 10. But showed they belonged by going 13-1, including a win in the Eastern Conference championship game.

6. RIVERSIDE POLY--Graduated a lot of people from the Big Five championship team of 1984, including Player of the Year Mark Green, but it is a credit to the coaching of Mike Churchill that the team was 10-1 before losing to Westminster in the first round of the playoffs. Solid team with no great players.

7. HACIENDA HEIGHTS LOS ALTOS--Lost running back Jim Jastrab, its top player, with an injury the week before the season opener and got off to a rocky start. Made the Southern Conference playoffs with a 7-2-1 record before being knocked off in the first round by Capistrano Valley.

8. ORANGE EL MODENA--Lost only to East Tustin Foothill (9-3) in Century League play and to eventual champion Santa Ana in the Southern Conference playoffs. Finished 10-2 and at times played as well as any team in the Southern Section.

9. CANYON COUNTRY CANYON--Despite a lackluster showing in winning the Northwestern Conference title, the third straight championship, no one managed to beat the Cowboys in 14 games.

10. SANTA MONICA--Up-and-down team that played Loyola tough before losing by three, and later in the season got crushed by Westlake. Finished 6-4.

The City:

1. CARSON--Dropped a nonleague game to Santa Fe Springs St. Paul and then went undefeated through the Pacific League, the City’s toughest, before losing to Banning in the 4-A final to finish10-2.

2. BANNING--Won eight of its last nine games, including the title, and finished 9-3. The team that hung its head after an early-season lossto Long Beach Poly was oh-so ready for Carson last Friday.

3. GARDENA--Ended 4-6, including a loss to San Fernando in the first round of the 4-A playoffs. Star running back Brian Brown was bothered by an ankle injury for much of the season, and was even wearing a cast last weekend.

4. LOCKE--Started 0-2, but came back to win six of next nine and reach 3-A semifinals.

5. SAN FERNANDO--Lost to Banning in the 4-A semifinals to finish 8-3.

6. KENNEDY--Finished 4-5, including a first-round playoff defeat by Banning.

7. JORDAN--A 60-7 loss to Westchester in the opener was an indication of things to come. Finished 0-9. Oops.

8. CRENSHAW--Went 2-6, but all but one loss was to a team ranked higher in the preseason poll. The other was to Dorsey, which, in looking back, should have been ranked.

9. GRANADA HILLS--Worked its way up the rankings as other teams lost, but Coach Darryl Stroh kept saying how ridiculous it was to have the Highlanders among the top two or three teams in the City. Voters agreed, but had little choice at the time. Finished 7-2, including a loss to Dorsey in the first round of the playoffs.

10. MANUAL ARTS--After winning two straight 3-A titles, the Toilers lost their co-coaches and a lot more. Ended up at 3-4-1.

A final combined City and Southern Section top 10 that is bound to bring criticism, thanks to Long Beach Poly’s playing it safe and going for the tie instead of the two-point conversion for the victory in the title game.

1. Long Beach Poly; 2. Edison; 3. Banning; 4. Canyon; 5. Carson; 6. Santa Ana; 7. Pasadena Muir; 8. Bishop Amat; 9. Claremont; 10. El Modena.

Honorable mention--Dorsey, Covina Charter Oak, Fairfax, Santa Ana Saddleback, Anaheim Servite, Riverside Poly, San Fernando.

Prep Notes Coach Bob Lester, who led El Modena of Orange to three Southern Conference football championships, announced his resignation. The Vanguards finished 11-2 this season and were upset in the semifinals by Santa Ana, putting his career mark at 157-58-8. . . . Marshall basketball guard Jerry Simon, who has been averaging about 36 points a game this season, has given an oral commitment to Pennsylvania. Players cannot sign letters of intent until April.