City Clears Reseda Player for Soccer Final

A Reseda High soccer player who was ejected from a semifinal match for arguing an official’s call will be allowed to play in Friday’s championship game, the City Section said Tuesday.

John Bellows, a halfback, would have been forced to miss the playoff final under a rules proposal introduced at a preseason coaches meeting. But according to City Commissioner Hal Harkness, that proposal was never adopted.

“We sent out a directive to the coaches, but we never officially made it a rule, therefore, it’s unenforceable,” Harkness said.

The City since has abandoned efforts to enforce the directive, instead relying on a self-monitoring system among coaches. In a similar case, Chatsworth’s Joey Bird was ejected in a playoff match against Belmont but played in the next match against San Pedro.

“If we intended to enforce the rule, we should have notified the schools,” Harkness said . “Instead, it became an individual school enforcement problem. Next year we plan to introduce it into the rule book.”

Bellows was ejected with less than 10 minutes to play in Reseda’s 3-2 win over Monroe on Thursday. Reseda Coach George Hull said he plans to start Bellows in the championship match Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Westchester High.

Reseda (12-4-2), which will face San Pedro, is making its first appearance in a soccer final.