Capistrano Valley Coach Suspended : Enright to Miss Rest of This Season, All of ’88 After Spying Charge

Dick Enright, football coach at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, has been suspended for the remainder of the season and the entire 1988 season on the recommendation of the Southern Section’s Executive Committee. The Cougars also forfeited their 22-21 win over El Toro two weeks ago.

The committee ruled that Capistrano Valley, The Times’ No. 3 team in the Southern Section, violated the California Interscholastic Federation code of ethics and the scouting prohibitions of the federation’s bylaws in preparing for its South Coast League game against El Toro on Oct. 30.

Enright told the committee that an acquaintance, Mark Donohoo, a former El Toro football player, videotaped an El Toro practice and screened the 10-minute tape on Enright’s home television on Tuesday before the game.

This violated rule 522, which reads: “Motion pictures, video reproduction and/or any other type of reproduction such as still pictures shall not be taken for scouting purposes in any sport by a representative, official or unofficial, of a Southern Section school in which his/her team member is not a participant, without written consent of the participating schools.”

Donohoo testified that he taped the practice on Oct. 27 from his father’s camper parked along Serrano Road, about 50 yards from El Toro’s practice field. He later went to Enright’s home, set up his video tape equipment to Enright’s television and played the tape.

Enright repeatedly told Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner, that he had met Donohoo two years ago at a therapy clinic but that he couldn’t recognize him. Enright finally admitted his role in the incident to Capistrano Valley principal Tom Anthony one day before the hearing.

District officials accepted the penalties Thursday morning, and Anthony said the school will not appeal the decision.

Anthony said Enright would remain at Capistrano Valley as a physical education instructor but will not be allowed to participate in any of the football team’s activities.

Eric Patton, the Cougars’ defensive coordinator for 10 years, was named Thursday as the school’s interim coach. Patton is a former two-time All-Southern Section linebacker at Mater Dei who earned a scholarship to Notre Dame. He later played for the Green Bay Packers and the Southern California Sun. The job is his first as a head coach.