Camp Kilpatrick Reeling After Football Setbacks

Camp Kilpatrick High’s football program has been left in limbo by the recent loss of its league affiliation and the resignation of Coach Sean Porter.

Porter resigned Thursday for personal reasons.

The Freedom League, a football-only league that was formed last year, disbanded after the 1991 season because only two of six members planned to return to the league. Twin Pines folded its program, Masada will drop to the eight-man level next fall, and Hamilton and Linfield have moved to the Arrowhead League, leaving only Camp Kilpatrick and St. John’s.

Camp Kilpatrick, in Malibu, is a Los Angeles County-maintained school for juvenile offenders. Inmates rarely spend more than a year at the school, making it difficult to build a program. The team routinely starts a season with a new roster, and some players join the squad as late as October.

There is little consistency on the coaching staff as well: The Mustangs have had three different coaches in the program’s four seasons.

“It takes a lot out of you working here,” Porter said. “It’s rewarding, but it involves a lot of time.”

Porter fashioned a 15-8-2 record in two seasons and led the Mustangs to last year’s Southern Section Division X championship game against Montclair Prep. Camp Kilpatrick finished 6-4-1 this season and lost to Village Christian, 8-6, in a first-round Division X playoff game.

“(Porter) has done a great job for us,” Athletic Director Duane Diffie said. “He’s great with the kids and all, but he has to do what is best for him.”

Porter, 29, a deputy probation officer at Camp Kilpatrick for the past four years, said he will remain at the school.

Diffie hopes to fill Porter’s vacancy by Jan. 15 and will consider prospective coaches from outside the probation department. In addition to finding a coach, Diffie must find a league. Camp Kilpatrick also fields basketball, soccer and volleyball teams that compete on a free-lance basis.

Diffie is lobbying to get the Mustangs into either the Alpha, Desert Inyo (Small), or Santa Fe leagues.

“My preference would be the Alpha League because of the travel and the competition level,” Diffie said.