A Tough Season for Welch--on and Off the Field

While the legal battle between Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas and Canyon Country Canyon football Coach Harry Welch moves into its seventh month, Welch finds himself suffering through his worst season since he took over the program in 1982.

The Cowboys, who finished 11-2 last year after being eliminated in the semifinals of the Division I playoffs, are 5-3-1, including a 2-2 mark in the Golden League. This will be only the second time that Welch has not won or tied for the league title.

Considering Canyon opened the season with a loss to Newhall Hart and then tied Sherman Oaks Notre Dame the next week, the year is not a total disaster, however. The Cowboys should finish third in the league, assuring them of a berth in next week’s playoffs.

But this year’s team is not vintage Welch.

“This has been the most difficult season in the 25 years of my professional career,” Welch said over the weekend. “The burden on me, my wife, the team and the community is greater than anything we’ve faced before. This whole incident has been a preoccupation and distraction every day of the week.”

The problems started last May when Thomas heard that Welch conducted an illegal practice. Welch acknowledged that such a practice was held but denied that he ordered it or was present at it.

In July, Thomas banned Welch, 46, from coaching for 5 1/2 months. Welch then hired an attorney to help him fight the Southern Section.

On July 31 in San Fernando Superior Court, Welch was granted a 20-day temporary restraining order against the William S. Hart Union High School District that allowed him to return to coaching. He later was granted a temporary injunction against the district and the Southern Section. The case probably will not come to court for two years.

Thomas, who said he took a beating in the case, vowed to continue the fight. He ordered an open hearing last month to investigate the Canyon football program. But the hearing was canceled by a Superior Court judge, who ruled the injunction protected Welch from such matters.

Thomas is days away from filing an appeal that would allow him to conduct the opening hearing.

“We have the integrity of our rules to uphold,” Thomas said. “This whole thing will take time, but I bet money we get this thing overturned.”

Welch said he is puzzled by Thomas’ actions, because it was the commissioner who told him to accept the Southern Section’s ruling or seek legal recourse.

“Mr. Thomas invited me to proceed legally and I’ve done that,” Welch said. “But he’s been vindictive because we accepted his offer. Some statements have been made that are unprofessional.

“This is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” he said. “The school has been ridiculed and maligned. My players have suffered personally far beyond any punishment they might have received from the Southern Section. What more does (Thomas) want?”

Welch said he wishes the two sides could get together and work out a compromise that would allow the matter to be put to rest.

Thomas has no such wish.

“If Harry is innocent, then that will come out in the open hearing and we can all walk away,” Thomas said.

Thomas, who has not had the best record in court in recent months, said he had an enjoyable weekend after winning a case Friday.

Montclair Prep in Van Nuys was seeking a temporary restraining order against the Southern Section so that its girls’ volleyball and football teams could compete in the playoffs.

The request was denied.

Montclair Prep is banned from all postseason competition this school year for illegally recruiting football players two seasons ago.

Football playoff pairings will be announced tonight for the City and Sunday for the Southern Section. The regular season ends Saturday.

In the City, Dorsey will probably be seeded No. 1 in the 4-A Division, if the Dons defeat Gardena Friday.

The controversy is which bracket to put Banning. The football committee probably will try to work out something in which Dorsey and Banning would not play each other until the final. If Dorsey is seeded first, it would have home-field advantage until the championship.

Prep Notes

The City’s Interscholastic Athletic Committee meets this morning at 7:30. It will discuss whether to punish Banning for forfeiting its game against Dorsey on Nov. 1. Banning refused to play Dorsey at Jackie Robinson Stadium because of the fear of gang violence.

Gardena Serra scored 22 points in a span of 47 seconds in the fourth quarter of its 62-0 Camino Real League victory over visiting Long Beach St. Anthony Friday night. . . . High school seniors can sign national basketball letters of intent during the early signing period, which starts Wednesday and lasts for one week. . . . Washington forfeited its 39-24 victory over Carson on Oct. 24 for using an ineligible player. The Generals are 4-5.

Times’ Prep Polls

CITY SECTION

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

SOUTHERN SECTION

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