Keeping Banning Out of Playoffs Would Be Excessive Punishment

Last week, Wilmington Banning High stood firmly on its unpopular decision to forfeit its football game against Dorsey at Jackie Robinson Stadium because of fear of violence.

Now, Banning will face possible sanctions when the City Section has its monthly meeting with the Interscholastic Athletic Committee on Nov. 12. Rumor has it that the Pilots will be barred from participation in this season’s playoffs.

If that turns out to be the punishment, it will be too severe. Banning should be put on probation, but keeping the team out of the playoffs will only hurt the players, who, despite their vote not to play, had little say in the matter. Their parents wielded the real authority.

The Pilots had bounced back after several mediocre seasons and, until this week’s poll, had been the City’s top-ranked team since the second week of the season. Banning had to work hard to gain that position.

The forfeit certainly was not good for athletics in the City, but depriving Banning of a playoff berth and a chance to win the City championship will not make the relationship between the schools any better.

“My charge is to put this thing together,” said Hal Harkness, district athletic director who will forward the City Section’s position on the case for review by the Interscholastic Athletic Committee. “Somehow we have to put the pieces together to get the two schools’ relationship back to normal. To me, the damage already has been done.”

In not playing Dorsey, Banning probably cost itself the Pacific League title and top seeding in the 4-A Division playoffs. That would seem punishment enough.

The day after the scheduled Banning-Dorsey game, Los Angeles Murphy defeated Cathedral at Jackie Robinson Stadium, 14-12.

Like Dorsey, Murphy--which has a 6-1 record--plays all of its home games at Jackie Robinson, but it has not had any opponents refuse to play there.

There are only three undefeated football teams left in the City--Marshall, Huntington Park and Birmingham.

For Marshall (7-0-1), having a winning season is something new, and the Barristers, 17-12 winners over Lincoln last Friday, are only one victory from their first league title since 1961. With a victory over Belmont Friday, Marshall would move into the top position in the Northern Conference.

“It’s a tough situation here because we are not used to winning,” Marshall Coach Ken Gerard said. “It’s been 30 years since we’ve won a true league title.”

A bench-clearing brawl forced an early end to a City game between Van Nuys and Canoga Park Friday night at Van Nuys.

The brawl began when quarterback-safety Bill Calhoun of Van Nuys taunted and punched Canoga Park’s Adam Ferris. Players from both teams quickly joined the fracas. Officials ejected Calhoun and halted the game.

No injuries were reported.

The game was called with 3 minutes 3 seconds remaining, and Van Nuys was credited with a 20-10 victory. The teams compete in the Mid-Valley League.

Loyola is on a course similar to the one that led the team to the Southern Section Division I championship last season.

The Cubs had regular-season losses to Santa Ana Mater Dei and La Puente Bishop Amat heading into last year’s playoffs. Loyola won its way through and beat Quartz Hill in the title game, 24-14.

Loyola lost to Mission Viejo in this year’s season opener, and then dropped a heartbreaker to Bishop Amat two weeks ago, falling to 4-2. Saturday night, the Cubs turned things around with a 28-20 victory over previously undefeated Santa Ana Mater Dei.

“This year’s team is a lot like last year’s,” Loyola defensive coordinator Jon Dawson said. “But we don’t have as much talent. We have some miserable athletes, but they play really well.”

Prep Notes

Twin Pines in Banning dropped its final four games because of a lack of players. The team, which competes in the Southern Section’s Freedom League in Division X, had dwindled to 12 players, with only 10 of those injury-free. Twin Pines finished 1-9. . . . David Dotson broke the state single-season rushing record and tied the mark for touchdowns in a season in Valley View’s 49-14 victory over La Sierra. Dotson gained 215 yards for the Moreno Valley school in 18 carries in the first half but played only on special teams in the second half. He has rolled up 2,827 yards this season, breaking the record set by Glyn Milburn of Santa Monica. He also has tied Milburn’s record for touchdowns with 38.

Times’ Prep Polls

CITY SECTION

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Dorsey 4-A 6-1-0 2 2. Banning 4-A 7-1-0 1 3. Kennedy 4-A 7-1-0 4 4. San Fernando 4-A 7-1-0 3 5. Sylmar 4-A 6-1-0 7 6. Washington 3-A 5-3-0 5 7. Granada Hills 4-A 4-3-0 9 8. Fairfax 4-A 6-1-0 10 9. Marshall 3-A 7-0-1 NR 10. Huntington Park 3-A 7-0-1 NR

SOUTHERN SECTION

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Eisenhower I 8-0-0 1 2. Fontana I 8-0-0 2 3. Bishop Amat I 8-0-0 4 4. Esperanza III 8-0-0 5 5. Tustin VI 8-0-0 6 6. Loyola I 5-2-0 8 7. Thousand Oaks II 7-1-0 7 8. Mater Dei I 8-1-0 3 9. Royal II 8-0-0 9 10. Valencia VI 8-0-0 10 11. Canyon Springs IV 7-1-0 12 12. El Modena II 8-0-0 13 13. Ventura II 7-1-0 NR 14. Glendale II 7-1-0 14 15. Artesia VI 8-0-0 15