THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Lawson Loses Sleep Over Key Roughing Penalty

Rich Lawson didn’t get much sleep Friday night. He shouldn’t have stayed up so late watching Friday Night Video.

But instead of being captivated by names like Madonna, Springsteen and Sting, the Chaminade football coach concentrated on names like Kelly and Afarian.

On Saturday morning, a weary Lawson was still lamenting a roughing-the-kicker penalty against the Eagles that proved decisive in the Knights’ 14-12 San Fernando Valley League victory Friday night at Chaminade.

Lawson replayed the third-quarter scene in which a diving Dan Kelly blocked Notre Dame kicker Chris Afarian’s 32-yard field-goal attempt. Kelly, however, was flagged for making contact with Afarian before the ball was kicked. The tape seemingly confirms Lawson’s claim that contact was made after the kick was blocked.

Notre Dame capitalized on the penalty and scored what proved to be the winning touchdown three plays later on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Greg Andrachick to Guillermo Eguez.

Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney said after the game that he did not have a good view of the play. After watching a videotape, he saw things differently.

“From watching the film, it appears the guy blocks the kick and then runs into the kicker,” he said. “I can empathize with those guys for feeling lousy about it. We certainly wouldn’t have scored on the drive. But that doesn’t mean they would have won the game.”

Said Lawson: “It changed the whole complexion of the game. That was the first kick we blocked all season.”

Lawson protested the call--on and off the field. After the game, the coach made a fly pattern to the videocassette recorder in his office. Minutes later, he wheeled the television and recorder into the officials’ locker room.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to embarrass you and I do this with some hesitation, but I want you to see this so you can understand my disappointment,’ ” Lawson said.

Lawson hinted that the show was not met with rave reviews by the officials.

“Physically, I don’t see how it’s possible,” Lawson said of the call. “It was so blatant. It was so bad.”

But it was final. And Notre Dame (5-1 overall, 1-0 in league play) now is likely to win its second consecutive league title.

Foster injured: Thousand Oaks fullback Chris Foster suffered an injury to his left knee in Friday night’s 21-0 Marmonte League win over Camarillo and could miss the Lancers’ next three games.

Foster, who has rushed for 402 yards and nine touchdowns in 80 carries, went down in the Lancers’ opening series. “I think I have a hyper-extension,” he said. “A guy just went down right into my knee with his helmet and it (the knee) bent back. I was in pain. I was rolling around. I was doing a lot of screaming.”

Foster will be examined by a doctor this week and could be out three weeks if cartilage damage is found.

Feminine touch: She’s got a leg. And she knows how to use it.

Score one for Monroe’s Rachel Gagliano, who made history Friday night by becoming the first girl in City Section history to score a point in a varsity game.

Gagliano booted an extra-point in the third quarter that aided the Vikings’ 18-17 Valley Pac-8 Conference upset of visiting Sylmar.

“I knew I was going to play in this game. I just had a feeling before it started,” said Gagliano, an All-City soccer player.

Two opportunities for field goals had gone awry earlier this season.

In one game, the snap went through the holder’s hands. In another, time expired before the Vikings could snap the ball.

“Everyone was waiting for it,” Gagliano said of the kick. “When it went through, Jesse Wallace slapped me on the helmet and said, ‘You did it!’ Everybody was jumping on me. I just kinda stood there. I liked it.”

Don’t get mad, get even: More than a handshake was exchanged between Burroughs Coach Butch McElwee and Hart Coach Mike Herrington after Hart clobbered Burroughs, 47-11, Friday night at Burroughs.

Seems that McElwee was peeved at Hart’s point total, especially because Hart led, 33-3, after three quarters and quarterback Rob Westervelt and tailback Howard Blackwell remained in the game almost until the final gun. Hart scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the Foothill League opener.

Herrington said that his first-stringers needed the playing time.

“I thought last week I pulled them a little too soon and I looked back and thought they didn’t accomplish what I wanted them to accomplish,” Herrington said. “I figured, since it’s league, we’ll leave them in.

“It’s hard because we want all the kids to play and we want the kids to be happy, but we want the kids who have started and worked hard to get as much recognition as possible.”

McElwee had little to say after the game. “Their time will come,” he muttered.

Said Herrington: “That’s what he said to me. But I’ll face that time when it comes. And I’ll take it like a man.”