Parochial Leagues Are Announced : Catholic Schools: Santa Margarita is placed in an eight-team league that includes Servite, Mater Dei and Loyola.

Administrators of the Catholic Athletic Assn. voted Monday to place Santa Margarita High School next season in an athletic league that includes traditional football powers Loyola, Servite, Bishop Amat and Mater Dei.

The CAA, which governs 52 parochial schools in Los Angeles and Orange counties, announced the formation of four athletic leagues after its two-hour meeting Monday in Los Angeles. Santa Margarita was placed in an as-yet-unnamed eight-team league that includes Bishop Amat, Loyola, Mater Dei, Rosary, St. John Bosco, St. Joseph and Servite.

The league includes three all-boys schools--Loyola, St. John Bosco and Servite--and two all-girls schools--St. Joseph and Rosary. Six league members field football teams.

“Our first senior class next year will have 90 boys, and we’re playing the big boys in football,” Santa Margarita Athletic Director Richard Schaff said. “We’ll be lucky to have 1,100 students, and I don’t think it’s fair.

“People have this misconception that we’re some kind of football power, but we couldn’t beat Valley Christian and struggled against Brethren this year. We’re not ready for the Loyolas and Servites.”

Santa Margarita, a third-year school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, currently plays in the Olympic League with small, private schools. But the school’s projected enrollment of 1,400 next year makes it incompatible with Olympic League members that average 450 students.

Administrators at Santa Margarita had hoped the school would be placed in the Santa Fe League with smaller parochial schools such as Cantwell, Cathedral, Salesian and Murphy. The school plans to appeal the placement at a Southern Section releaguing meeting on Dec. 5.

While Santa Margarita administrators were unhappy with the new league proposal, athletic directors at Servite and Mater Dei approved the move.

“We like the league,” said Tom Vitello, Servite athletic director. “This is the foremost league in the parochial area. We will continue our rivalries with Bishop Amat and Mater Dei. And geographically, we’re right in the middle of the league, so transportation won’t be a big hassle.”

“They put all the muscle in one league,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei basketball coach and athletic director, “and we all know releaguing is always based on the strength of football programs. I’m just happy we didn’t end up in an odd-numbered league like we have this year. Odd-numbered leagues are a scheduling nightmare.”