THE HIGH SCHOOLS / STEVE HENSON : Welch Game Plan Seems to Be Up in the Air

What’s Harry Welch up to now?

Ninety-one victories in a little more than eight seasons as Canyon High football coach, for one thing, including two wins to begin this season.

He also is up to two resignations, the second coming Thursday when he slipped a note in the mailbox of Bill White, the Canyon principal, saying this season is his last. Welch cannot recall the details of the first resignation, which apparently occurred a few years ago, but White and Welch’s wife Cindee agree that he did, in fact, resign.

Temporarily.

This time Welch might actually quit.

“This is the last year--goodby,” he said.

Then again, maybe he won’t.

“If certain things could be resolved, who knows?” he said during the same conversation.

Welch waffling? That’s like Tom Lasorda turning down a pasta dinner. It couldn’t happen, then all of a sudden . . . Lasorda munches on melon after games.

And Welch, 45, the most driven, demanding coach in the region, resigns on the heels of one of his team’s greatest victories--a 40-0 trouncing of Honolulu St. Louis--and on the eve of his team’s greatest rivalry. That the Cowboys managed to defeat Hart, 14-7, Friday despite the distraction is a tribute to the outstanding program Welch has in place.

Indecision is incongruous with Welch’s style. Canyon disdained the punt five times on fourth down against Hart, including once at the Cowboy 10-yard line in the fourth quarter.

There were no second thoughts, just first downs.

What gives? For a glimpse into a man’s innermost thoughts, let’s ask his wife.

“This is a big decision in his life. He has a lot to consider,” Cindee Welch said. “There is a lot more time to think about it than (a decision) in a game.

“What he’s doing and the time he’s devoting, I don’t know if he can do that indefinitely. I believe he intends to resign. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed, either.”

Nothing definite there. Maybe his boss knows more.

White, the Canyon principal, also happens to be a rabid Cowboy football fan and a close friend of Welch’s. Basically, he is ignoring the resignation letter.

“I don’t think in my heart that Harry doesn’t want to coach football next season,” White said. “I told him I’m not accepting (the resignation).”

What Welch cannot accept is this: He must teach four college-preparatory English courses in addition to coaching. For him, that’s one class too many, the difference between a tolerable workload and giving up his coaching career.

“Coaching to me is a full-time job; teaching is a full-time job,” he said. “I’m no longer able to do both. I’ve decided I won’t do it any more.”

White says it is not in his power to allow Welch to teach one less class than every other teacher in the William S. Hart Union High School District. It’s a collective-bargaining issue, he says.

Welch understands the realities of public-school employment. He’s not bitter, but he won’t be back unless there are changes.

“Canyon has been consistent and forthright in its treatment of me,” he said. “This is the same situation as I’ve had all along. There was never an indication that they would modify my teaching load.”

So he will modify his coaching load instead.

A break might not be so bad, Welch concedes. In 1981, the only year in the past 25 he did not coach, Welch was voted by Canyon students as teacher of the year.

Absolving Lins: As he watched Russell White on television scoring his first touchdown as a collegian, Tim Lins spoke of redemption.

Redlands, a team that had left Crespi red-faced three years in a row, finally had been overcome. “We talked about our hard times with them, we took it all the way back,” said Lins, the Celt coach whose team defeated Redlands, 7-6, Friday night.

Crespi’s previous games against the Terriers, all openers, were like beginning a promising meal with a foul appetizer.

“They always left us with a bad taste in our mouths,” Lins said.

In 1987, the Celts began the season ranked No. 1 in the nation. Portions of their opener at Redlands were broadcast on ABC-TV. White, now a Cal sophomore, was touted as one of the nation’s top running backs.

White suffered a hip-pointer in the second quarter; Redlands tied Crespi, 17-17; and the Celts plummeted from the polls.

In 1988, White’s senior year, Crespi again was nationally ranked. White again was injured, and Redlands again rankled Celt fans by battering Crespi, 28-6.

In 1989, Redlands spoiled Lins’ debut as a head coach, 17-7. White, meanwhile, was forced to sit out his freshman season at Cal after failing to score 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

But it’s a new season, a new decade, and look who is reborn:

White rushes for 78 yards in his Cal debut. Crespi wipes away the Redlands jinx a week after opening with an impressive 21-14 victory over the top public school in Hawaii.

Growing up: It’s strictly a high school phenomenon. The name is the same, yet his game has changed.

As a season opens, every high school coach eagerly anticipates players who sprouted during the off-season like Jack’s beanstalk.

“There is such a difference between a 16-year-old and a 17- or 18-year-old,” said George Hurley, the Newbury Park football coach. “A lot of times they go from boys to men, right in front of you.”

The growth isn’t always physical. Walter Thomas, Newbury Park’s senior tailback, is only 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds. Yet in terms of maturity, he has become 10 feet tall.

“At the beginning of last year, he missed a lot of practices, had all kinds of complaints and excuses,” Hurley said. “This year he’s the first in line. He comes to practice day after day, ready to play.”

Thomas rushed for 50 yards in eight carries before suffering an injury in the first quarter of Newbury Park’s 21-6 opening loss to Chaminade on Friday night. A year ago, Thomas might have milked the injury--torn cartilage in his knee--for all it was worth in missed practice time. This year, he vows to return in two weeks.

Many teams have players who have delighted their coaches by improving physically and/or mentally. Some notables:

* Chuck Osborne (6-2, 230), Canyon: A junior defensive end, Osborne was not motivated and unimpressive last season. He reported this year having added 35 pounds and a game face. Now he has a handsome trophy for being named most valuable player in the Shawn Akina Memorial Games in Honolulu last week.

“A year ago, Chuck had a terrible work ethic on the field and in the classroom,” Welch said. “Spring ball rolled around and he was sensational. Now he’s a big-time player and he’s taking college-prep courses. He did it all on his own.”

* Waki Jones (6-2, 205) and Axel Nielsen (6-2, 195), Glendale: Physically unimposing junior cornerbacks a year ago, Jones and Nielsen both have added 25 pounds and grown two inches. Now they pound running backs, having been moved to outside linebacker.

“Jones, especially, has a real chance at a scholarship,” Coach Don Shoemaker said. “Waki’s growth has been more natural. Axel has done more in the weight room.

“People see that kind of growth and ask if they are on steroids. No way, they’re just high school kids who hit a growth spurt while they were working out.”

* John Gallero (5-7, 195), Cesar Morales (5-10, 205) and George Camia (5-9, 210), Channel Islands: The Raiders rushed for 347 yards Friday night in a 30-18 win over Rio Mesa. Providing the bulk of the blocking were these three seniors, all making their first start at any level after gaining about 20 pounds each during the off-season.

“Somewhere along the line, they made a decision to be important players,” Coach Joel Gershon said.