The High Schools : North Hollywood Cheers Many Happy Returns

Not only does North Hollywood (1-12) expect as many as five players to be granted academic eligibility this week, the team also welcomed the return of Coach Brian York.

York, who chipped a bone in his left ankle after stepping in a sprinkler hole last fall, postponed surgery for several months. He finally had the extensive bone, ligament and cartilage damage repaired March 31 but has been laid up since.

“I’ve been going nuts,” he said. “Thank God there have been lots of King, Laker and Dodger games on the TV.”

York, who is now gingerly “gimping around” on crutches, kept his promise to “hobble in, prop my foot up and lend as much moral support as I can.”

York attended Wednesday’s home game against Reseda won by North Hollywood, 10-5. Junior varsity Coach Fred Grimes and football assistant Chad Fenwick have been handling the varsity in York’s absence.

Trophy dash: Darryl Stroh was understandably upbeat last week as he watched the final of the Holt-Goodman tournament. He was so chipper, in fact, that he playfully tried to sneak off with the championship trophy.

Stroh and his Granada Hills team settled for the consolation trophy, a surprise in itself in light of the Highlanders’ start. Granada Hills dropped its first-round tournament game to fall to 0-9 but rebounded to win three in a row and the consolation crown.

It is no secret which group of players has been most responsible for the new-found success. After eight league games, no pitcher had an earned-run average lower than 10, but with right-handers Eric Clark and Gabe Miller healthy--both have recovered from lingering elbow problems--the Highlanders might make an impact down the stretch. Clark, a senior, won two games in the tournament.

Counted out: Cleveland’s Herman Rodriguez was expected to be one of the Cavaliers’ starting pitchers. Arm trouble, however, limited him to appearances as a designated-hitter, but he batted .411 with drove in eight runs in the cleanup spot.

Now he is gone altogether. Rodriguez was ruled academically ineligible this week after failing a biology course.

“He will be hard to replace,” interim Coach Tom Smith said. “He was one of our best hitters.”

Staff writers Steve Elling and John Lynch contributed to this notebook.