White Replaces Cast With Sack in Canyon Win

When Canyon High linebacker Mark White sustained a fractured radius bone in his right arm in a game against Antelope Valley last month, it appeared he was lost for the season.

However, the Cowboys have a tradition of players playing in pain. Last year, defensive back-running back Mark Santos played in a Division I semifinal against Loyola with one arm taped to his body because of a badly separated shoulder.

In Friday’s 35-13 first-round playoff win over Santa Ana, White joined that hardy Cowboy fraternity. Even though he had a seven-inch metal plate in his right arm and a cast covering the broken bone, White decided that he wanted to play.

Coach Harry Welch told him, “No way.” White and his family, however, persisted.

There was a tradition to uphold. The game was to be played at Santa Ana Stadium, where White’s great-grandfather was a star football player for Chapman College in 1922. What’s more, his great-grandmother was Miss Orange County for Santa Ana that same year.

So, White’s parents drew up a legal document releasing Welch, the high school, the school district, the Southern Section and just about everybody else imaginable from responsibility.

White had his cast removed, and Welch took two shin guards and placed them over thin orthopedic foam to create a form-fitting cast. Welch then took thick orthopedic foam and taped it to the top of the arm.

On his first play of the game, White sacked Santa Ana’s quarterback.

REVENUE LOST

Tonight’s football game between back-yard rivals San Fernando (10-1) and Sylmar (9-1) highs promises to attract one of largest crowds in the quarterfinal round of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs.

So big, in fact, that City Section officials changed the game site from Sylmar to Birmingham to accommodate the anticipated large crowd. But those same officials neglected to inform the Sylmar administration until Monday afternoon.

In the meantime, Sylmar booster club President Dee Larson was planning on feeding one of the largest crowds in school history.

“Our booster club is really (upset),” Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman said. “They bought $800 worth of stuff over the weekend to sell in the concession stand. This is a big fund-raiser for us.”

The Spartans, who were undefeated in Valley Pac-8 Conference play, were scheduled to act as host to the game based on their league record.

But Sylmar holds only about 4,000 fans; Birmingham can seat about 10,000.

Sylmar and San Fernando each earn 25% of the gate receipts, and the City takes the other 50%. However, the Birmingham booster club will benefit from the revenue brought in from the concession stands. The club agreed to buy perishable items from the Sylmar booster club.

“We stood to make $1,500 to $2,000 from this game,” Sylmar Athletic Director Bob Miller said. “We don’t have a lot of money in this school. We struggle to make money from candy sales, so this is really a big loss for us.”

Engilman was reluctant to give up the home-field advantage, but knew he didn’t have much choice.

“Yeah, I’m upset about it, but I’ve dealt with the City far too long. . . . This kind of stuff happens all the time,” he said.

ONCE UPON A TIME

How long ago the 1982 season must seem to Hart assistant Dean Herrington.

Herrington was Hart’s quarterback in ’82. And a good one, too, throwing for a school-record 2,067 yards.

Today, as the Indians’ offensive coordinator in charge of quarterbacks, Herrington readily admits that those numbers would hardly earn him a spot on the bench.

No less than five quarterbacks have since broken Herrington’s seasonal mark. They are: Tom Bonds (1983), Jim Bonds (1985, ‘86), Darren Renfro (1987), Rob Westervelt (1988, ‘89) and Ryan Connors (1990 and ‘91).

A Hart quarterback has passed for at least 2,100 yards in eight of the past nine years.

STILL A THRILL

John Reardon has been around. In fact, he’s been football coach at Rio Mesa since 1968.

But Reardon hadn’t seen it all. That was evident from the gleam in his eyes after the Spartans handed Royal a 10-7 loss in a Southern Section first-round Division II game at Moorpark College. Rio Mesa, a wild-card entrant, was a heavy underdog. The Highlanders entered the game 10-0 and seeded No. 1.

“Unbelievable,” said Reardon, who received a Gatorade bath from his players. “We’re really not that good of a football team. We just played well. This win is fantastic, one of the greatest since I’ve been coaching.”

LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD

Antelope Valley Coach Brent Newcomb knew he was taking a chance Friday night in a 13-10 overtime playoff win at Bishop Amat. But with senior Peter Holt, he liked his chances.

Faced with a California tiebreaker after regulation ended in a 10-10 tie, Antelope Valley was able to stop the Lancers when running back Scott Fields fumbled on their first play in the overtime.

Antelope Valley then had four chances to score from the 10. But Newcomb sent in Holt right away for a 27-yard field goal on the first play. It was a risky move, considering that if Holt missed the kick, the Antelopes would be forfeiting their next three tries to get the ball in the end zone.

But Holt’s kick was good, and Newcomb said there was never a doubt.

According to Newcomb, the coaches had decided earlier in the week that they would give Holt every opportunity to win the game. Holt, the school’s homecoming king who has booted field goals longer than 50 yards twice this season, didn’t let them down.

“It was good from moment one,” Newcomb said. “It was right down the heart of the uprights. The boo-birds were up there second-guessing me, but I live right down the street from Peter and I’ve watched him work out too many times in a little park by our house.

“He works so hard and that hard work paid off for him. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”

Holt also gets an assist off the field. His family houses senior tailback Freddie Edwards so that Edwards, whose mother moved to Palmdale, can still attend Antelope Valley High. Edwards has repaid the favor with 18 touchdowns this season.

While the Antelopes will be practicing on Thanksgiving Day for the first time since 1988, when they won a Division II championship, Newcomb is indebted to Holt’s father, Curt, a former FBI agent and a longtime supporter of Antelope football.

Joked Newcomb about the Holts’ generosity: “I should put him on a stipend.”

ONLY A RUMOR

According to the Ventura County grapevine, Joel Gershon was fed up as the football coach at Channel Islands and was turning in his whistle after 19 seasons.

After winning at least a share of Marmonte League titles in 1987 and 1988, the Raiders are 5-15 in league games since.

“I’m returning,” said Gershon, who has 16 starters returning next season. “The kids worked real hard and kept a good attitude even though it was a rough season.”

MR. NOVEMBER

Village Christian running back Chad Everett seems to enjoy the atmosphere of a playoff game. He gained 183 yards in 18 carries in the Crusaders’ 8-6 first round win over Camp Kilpatrick on Saturday in a Division X game.

In Everett’s last four playoff games dating to last year, he has gained 667 yards for an average of 167 yards.

Everett has rushed for 1,114 yards and 11 touchdowns this year. And he missed two games at tailback when Coach Mike Plaisance moved him to linebacker at mid-season when injuries depleted the Crusaders at that position.

“Chad felt we should have used him more at running back this year,” Plaisance said. “But we had no choice. Now, he’s proving to everybody that he can still play that position.”

BREAKING THE SPELL

Royal’s water polo team lost its Southern Section 3-A semifinal match to La Serna on Friday at Belmont Plaza, but the Highlanders might have won in a larger sense.

In each of Coach Steve Snyder’s previous 10 years at Royal, the Highlanders advanced to the playoffs but failed to pass the second round. Some called it a jinx, some called it bad luck. But now, Snyder thankfully says, call it over.

In their second-round game against Santa Monica, the Highlanders bucked the monkey off their back with a 6-3 victory. What’s more, they beat Marina in the quarterfinals before falling to top-ranked La Serna.

“It was really a big milestone for us,” Snyder said. “It was more than just a second-round game. It was a lot of years of frustration and disappointment and bad luck and bad seeds finally put to rest. A lot of spirits were put to rest that night.”

Returning to next year’s team are talented goalie Ralph Radka and record-breaking scorer Jack Kocur. Snyder will take his players to today’s championship matches at Belmont Plaza.

“We’ll give them a taste of it and see if we can’t be there next year,” he said.

YEAR TO REMEMBER

After enduring one of the toughest girls’ volleyball schedules in the area, Notre Dame is basking in the afterglow of what Coach Ann McClung calls the Knights’ best season.

Despite a slow start, Notre Dame came back to win the Mission League championship for the second consecutive year and advanced to the 4-A quarterfinals for the first time with wins over Harvard-Westlake and Cypress. The Knights finally fell to 4-A finalist Marymount to finish with a 14-12 record. Another highlight was an early season victory over Del Mar Torrey Pines, ranked No. 3 nationally by Volleyball Monthly at the time, in the Santa Barbara tournament.

Leading the Knights were four seniors, setter Shannon Tuttle, outside hitters Ani Thorpe and Cindy Ofmanian and middle blocker Stephanie Hayes. Tuttle was the league’s most valuable player and Thorpe, Ofmanian and Hayes were selected all-league.

ON THE SIDELINES

The fact that Westlake won its second consecutive tennis championship Tuesday with a 13-5 decision over Camarillo was a tribute to the Warriors’ depth.

Westlake played for the last six weeks without junior Jennifer Schuster after her condition was diagnosed as Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, in which blood circulation in the chest and shoulder is hampered by overdeveloped muscles pressing into the upper rib cage.

One doctor suggested Schuster undergo a painful and dangerous operation to remove the rib nearest her right shoulder, but a second opinion from doctors at UCLA called for rehabilitation treatment instead.

Schuster, who alternated between No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles with freshman Michelle Clark, found rooting her teammates to victory a somewhat hollow experience.

“It’s fun cheering them on, but I wish I was out there playing,” she said.

David Coulson, Vince Kowalick and staff writers Paige A. Leech, Brian Murphy and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.