The Preps / Scott Howard-Cooper : Mater Dei’s McKnight Denies Move

Cleaning out the prep basketball notebook, soon after the Southern Section’s triple crown effort Saturday at the state finals in Oakland:

Will he stay or will he go? The hottest rumor of the playoffs had Gary McKnight leaving Santa Ana Mater Dei to become coach at a public school somewhere in Orange County, sacrificing his role as head of one of the finest programs in the country for a decent salary, something he reportedly can’t get at the parochial school.

McKnight flatly denied such reports amid the victory celebration after the Monarchs won the Division I title game, although some say that his off-the-record comments indicate otherwise.

“Gary will not make a lateral move,” McKnight said of McKnight. “If the opportunity comes up, that’s one thing, but he will not make a lateral move. Gary is very happy at Mater Dei.”

A lateral move, for McKnight, is high school to high school. The if opportunity he mentioned is defined as an offer of a college job, something he said has not happened.

Mater Dei’s 18-point win over Ygnacio Valley of Concord was the capper to a Southern Section sweep for the boys. Santa Monica Crossroads started the run by beating Colusa by 18 for the Division III championship and Irvine Woodbridge took the Division II title by 26 points over Richmond De Anza.

The largest section in the state now has five boys’ championships, one better than the City and the North Coast.

Mater Dei’s reputation preceded the team to Northern California, even if it was an an incorrect one.

At a Friday morning pep rally, Ygnacio Valley Coach Jim Grace stepped to the microphone to a thunderous ovation. Mater Dei would be a heavy favorite the next day, so according to Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune, Grace did his part to fuel the David-Goliath atmosphere.

“With your help, we’ll take these guys from limousine land and put them in the cheap seats,” he told the students.

Santa Ana is limousine land?

The second-best was one by McKnight, who despite having lost just seven games in six years as Monarch coach, had never reached the state final. That included last season, when he was ejected from the Southern California Regional title game against Crenshaw with three technical fouls.

“It’s nice to end the season with a win,” he said. “It’s nice to see the end of the game.”

Three more leagues will add the three-point shot for next season: Angelus, which includes schools from Los Angeles and Orange counties, Garden Grove and South Coast. That brings to five the number of Southern Section leagues using the gimmick.

In addition, the Sunset is planning to add the 45-second clock for 1987-88, but will have to go higher than the Southern Section for approval. In fact, since that league is believed to be the first in the state to use a shot clock, officials will have to send a request through the national federation in Missouri.

In a rematch of the memorable 29-inning, 2-day softball marathon last season in the Southern Section 4-A quarterfinals, St. Joseph of Lakewood beat Gahr of Cerritos last Wednesday in a regulation seven-inning game, 2-0.

The coaches, Debbie Taylor of St. Joseph and John Klein of Gahr, headed off a possible, though improbable, replay by agreeing beforehand that this game would be stopped after 10 innings regardless of the score. As it turned out, it was 0-0 through five innings before St. Joseph, the No. 1 team in the preseason coaches’ poll, broke through for two runs.

Sophomores Lisa Fernandez and De De Weiman, who combined to strike out 101 of 192 batters in last season’s game, squared off again. Fernandez, the winning pitcher, struck out 17 of 23 and allowed just two hits, both in the second inning. Weiman of third-ranked Gahr also tossed a two-hitter and had 15 strikeouts.

Add softball: Dissension at Woodland Hills El Camino Real has caused junior Beth Silverman, the best pitcher in the City, to miss her third straight start today, a number that will continue to grow until her status is resolved. Some teammates are hoping that she won’t be back at all.

Two weeks ago, the players petitioned to have Silverman, 35-0 in three years, taken off the squad after she allegedly cursed second baseman Stacy Trapp in a game against Newbury Park.

Trapp has said that a majority of the team will boycott if Silverman remains, and Coach Neils Ludlow in turn asked his star player to stay away from games and practices, calling the status an indefinite leave of absence.

“I hope it gets resolved as soon as possible because it’s way out of hand,” Silverman told Mark Langill of The Times last week. “Ludlow is the coach and I feel it’s his decision whether I return or not.”

In the meantime, El Camino continues to win. The four-time City champions are 3-0 and have won two straight without Silverman and have a 58-game winning streak.

Loyola, winner of two straight Southern Section 3-A boys’ volleyball titles, has been ranked No. 1 in the coaches’ poll for the 1987 season.

Newport Beach Newport Harbor got the nod in the 4-A, with Manhattan Beach Mira Costa No. 2 and defending champion Dana Hills out of the top 10 entirely. Newport Harbor passed one test last Wednesday with a three-game sweep of sixth-ranked El Toro.

A total of 120 teams and 17 leagues will play this season, an increase since last year from 82 and 13, respectively.

Prep Notes The 20th annual Arcadia Invitational, the top prep track meet on the West Coast, has been set for April 11, with two prominent changes: An all-weather track, which is being used at the school for the first time, and a morning session that will allow more athletes to compete. In all, 300 schools from four states are expected. . . . Dave Elecciri, a former player at Carson, has been named football coach at San Clemente. . . . Fullerton football Coach Martin Luczaj has resigned after a 7-3 season. He leaves with a 44-15 record in six years and a Central Conference title in 1984. . . . The Northridge Invitational track meet, which was rained out last Saturday, has been rescheduled for April 4. . . . Dave Hoffman has been named basketball coach at St. Genevieve of Panorama City. . . . Carolyn Campbell, who coached the Mater Dei girls’ basketball team to four straight Angelus League titles, has resigned. . . . Ron Craig quit as basketball coach at Cypress.