THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Coach Blames San Fernando Loss on Officials’ Dispute With City Section

The moment the San Fernando High football team returned Friday night from Reseda High, Tom Hernandez rushed to his office and watched the game film. The San Fernando coach fast-forwarded to the final three minutes, past the scoring plays that had given Reseda a 17-15 lead, past the long San Fernando drive to the Regents’ eight-yard line.

Now the film was in slow motion.

There’s Leonice Brown taking a pitchout, racing around right end for the apparent go-ahead touchdown. There’s the penalty flag fluttering through the air. There’s the referee signaling that a clipping call on running back Johnnie Brown has nullified the score.

Hernandez sees everything except the clip. Rewind. Watch carefully. Still no clip.

His reaction? Anything but clipped.

“There was no contact, (Brown) never touched the guy,” Hernandez said. “Our kids should have held their heads high celebrating a win, and it’s taken away by some knucklehead who has no business being on the field.”

Hernandez winced and continued: “All because the City Section can’t get it together with the San Fernando Valley officials. The Valley officiating association is boycotting the City, and we are the victims because the officials we are getting are ridiculous.”

Informed of Hernandez’s comments, it was Ron Mouzis’s turn to wince.

“The boycott thing is something of a misnomer, a real bad rumor,” said Mouzis, president of the San Fernando Valley Football Officials Assn.

Mouzis acknowledged, however, that far fewer Valley officials are working City Section games than in previous years. “Some guys are hesitant to work, because they weren’t sure of the games they were going to get.”

Until this season, all City Section games were assigned by a Los Angeles Unified School District employee, who would utilize officials from the Los Angeles, South Bay and San Fernando Valley associations. This year, the City turned over assigning responsibilities to the Los Angeles Officials Assn.

Consequently, many choice games involving Valley teams have been assigned to Los Angeles officials rather than the San Fernando Valley officials who had worked those games in the past.

“(The Los Angeles assigner) is taking care of his people first,” Mouzis said.

The City’s attempt to rid itself of dealing with officials appears to have backfired. Hernandez will visit the City athletic office this week, film in hand.

“I want to guarantee we get a good crew next week, or we’re not playing next week,” he said. “It would be a waste of our time. We want some satisfaction.”

City under siege: Life in the big City is chaotic for more than football coaches and officials. A year from now--three weeks before the football playoffs--the City basketball, soccer and wrestling seasons already will be in full swing.

League play in those sports must begin Nov. 1 and be completed by Dec. 20, City Administrator Hal Harkness says, because of a new school calendar to be implemented throughout the LAUSD in the fall. School will not be in session for eight weeks beginning Dec. 20.

The plan has prompted more questions than are found on an SAT. And the answers are at least as difficult.

When will the playoffs be held? And if they are held during the winter break, who will supervise the games? Who will attend the games?

Will an athlete still be able to play both a fall and winter sport?

What happens to volleyball and B and C basketball--traditional fall sports that use gym facilities--when varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball and wrestling begin taking gym space in the fall?

Are there enough fields in the fall for both football and soccer teams?

Did the LAUSD Board of Education consider any of this when deciding to put the entire district on a calendar that benefits only schools that are overcrowded?

Has anyone told the board that only four of the 49 LAUSD high schools need this calendar, that most high schools in the Valley are under capacity?

Will athletics and other extracurricular activities be sacrificed merely so district administrators can eliminate some paper work?

All City Section coaches will receive letters from the Los Angeles Coaches Assn. in the next two weeks urging ideas and action, according to Jeff Davis, the group’s vice president.

Victory laughs: Five school maintenance workers were on their hands and knees Friday night, frantically searching for the ignition key to a 1959 Chevy truck that was sitting smack in the middle of the Hueneme High football field. Santa Barbara and Hueneme were on the field, ready for the second-half kickoff, but the truck used for homecoming festivities was in the way.

After a few minutes, Hueneme Coach George Machado pulled the keys from his pocket and coyly asked, “You looking for these?”

The Hueneme players had a good chuckle, tension was eased, and the Vikings went on to snap a 20-game losing streak with a 28-25 victory over Santa Barbara, the defending Division II co-champion.

For Machado, laughter is the best medicine. A win now and then doesn’t hurt, either.

“Has this taken the monkey off our back? You been to Universal Studios? This took Godzilla and King Kong off our back,” he said.

Amid all the mirth, Machado mixed in a bit of seriousness in the locker room after the game.

“I told the players to close their eyes and I said, ‘How does it feel inside to come into a locker room after a victory? This is all I wanted for you to experience.’

“We made Queen for a Day look like a comedy.”