The High Schools : Eligibility of Transfers Leaves Westlake Brass Braced for Complaints

Despite Friday’s Southern Section ruling that exonerated Buzz Holcomb of recruiting charges after he opened his Westlake Village home to three youth athletes from Pacoima, Westlake High Athletic Director Bob Fisher is braced for a torrent of protest from fellow Marmonte League schools.

Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas gave Westlake high marks for its handling of the case, but Fisher remains concerned.

“We feel strongly in the neighborhood school concept and I anticipate an outcry from some of the schools within the league,” he said. “I think the unfortunate part is that people will say Westlake recruited athletes and it isn’t true. We work hard to keep things above board.”

Immediate reaction indicates that Fisher’s fears may be unfounded. Bob Richards, the football coach at Thousand Oaks who had accused Holcomb of recruiting, struck a conciliatory stance. And Westlake found a supporter of the school and Holcomb in Ken Cook, Newbury Park’s football coach.

Holcomb maintained to the Southern Section that he assumed legal guardianship of Brian Brison, Leonice Brown and Mukasa Crowe for education reasons, not because of their abilities as football players and track and field athletes. Brison and Crowe will enroll at Westlake as ninth graders, and Brown will enroll at Crespi as a sophomore.

Cook, who coached Holcomb’s nephew Dave Angulo last year, accepts Holcomb’s explanation.

“Whether those kids play ball or not, they’d still be staying at his home,” Cook said. “If you can prove the guy was out and out recruiting, then the kids shouldn’t play. He’s got the parents saying it wasn’t recruiting and until you can find someone to say different, who am I to call him a liar? The CIF investigated it. If they’re satisfied, I’m satisfied.”

Cook has just one complaint.

“I wish to hell they were going to Newbury Park, not Westlake.”

Depth chart: Despite the return of 14 starters, including All-Pac-8 League selection Jerome Casey, a lack of depth may hurt Sylmar’s football team. The Spartan roster numbered only 38 players as the week began, about 15 fewer than last year’s squad.

“It’s a problem when your school doesn’t have a good football reputation,” Coach Jeff Engilman said. “We lost several good junior high kids to other schools because Sylmar isn’t known as a football power.

“It’s a lot like college. The good players want to go to a school with a winning tradition.”

Luckily for Engilman, three transfers are expected to start for the Spartans. Stacey Lyons, formerly of Monroe, and Calvin Edwards, formerly of Chatsworth, should fortify the receiving corps, and Sergio Soto, formerly of Hart, is expected to start at center.

“The transfers have been a pleasant surprise,” Engilman said. “Without them, the low turnout would have hurt us more.”

Add Engilman: Engilman resides on a 5 1/2-acre farm in the less-than-bustling metropolis of Acton, which sits between Newhall and Palmdale off of Interstate 14.

“Sometimes the drive is a pain,” he admitted. “But I enjoy the open surroundings.”

Though Engilman plans to raise horses in the future, he says his chief export right now is lizards.

“The place is crawling with them,” he quipped.

No respect: Kevin Rooney has fought an image battle ever since Notre Dame decided to leave the Del Rey League for the newly formed San Fernando Valley League. The football coach and athletic director has tried to reverse the belief that the move represents a de-emphasis of sports at the school.

It didn’t help his cause when the Southern Section placed the San Fernando Valley League in Division VII, a large drop from the Division I Del Rey. The section ranked Notre Dame second in the division in its preseason poll and added the following comment:

“Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks will get relief as a result of the releaguing process and instantly becomes a front-runner in the new San Fernando Valley League, rather than so much cannon fodder in the powerful Del Rey.”

Cannon fodder? Ouch.

Youth movement: Granada Hills is not expected to repeat as City Section 4-A champion after the graduation of the nucleus of the team’s skill position players. But it is more than desperation that prompted Coach Darryl Stroh to add four sophomores to the varsity. The 10th graders caught his eye with their speed and size.

Brett Washington (5-11, 215), who will see action at fullback, was timed in the 40 at 4.65.

Robert Haywood (6-0, 165) and Derrick Stewart (6-0, 170) will play in the defensive secondary. Eric Moss (5-11, 165) and Stewart are expected to contribute at receiver. Stewart was timed in the 40 in 4.6.

“I just wish wish we’d had them out all summer,” said offensive coordinator Tom Harp. “They’re a little behind because they missed all of the passing season.

“It’s probably the best group of sophomores we’ve had since 1983. These guys could all make an impact.”

Scyphers stays: Simi Valley baseball Coach Mike Scyphers, who said he considered applying for the vacant Oxnard College coaching position, has decided to stay put.

Scyphers said he did not want to leave the stability of Simi Valley, where he has coached for 10 years, to enter a part-time, walk-on position. “At one time I was pretty excited about applying for it,” he said. “I just decided it’s not the time, I guess.”

Murphy move: Shaun Murphy, a former baseball standout at Simi Valley, has transferred from Arizona to UNLV. While at Simi Valley, Murphy was twice named All-Southern Section before graduating in 1986. He was also an All-State selection by Cal-Hi sports in his senior season.

Staff writers John Lynch, Tim Brown, Steve Elling and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.