Bill Judy Will Be Remembered as a Winner On and Off the Field

The last time I talked to Bill Judy was in September. He was recovering from a severe case of pneumonia and looking forward to returning to his job as a science teacher at Peninsula High.

He had missed Peninsula’s first football game, a 16-7 victory over Millikan. In his weakened condition, venturing out of the house on a Friday night was out of the question.

“It isn’t as though I’m missing football right now,” he said. “I’m just glad to be alive and looking forward to getting back to work and being healthy. But I’m happy for the players. I’m glad they won.”

Judy, who had coached many of Peninsula’s players at Palos Verdes High, died Sunday at UCLA Medical Center after a lengthy illness. He was 53.

In eight seasons as Palos Verdes’ coach, Judy guided the Sea Kings to four Bay League titles and five appearances in the Southern Section playoffs. That record made him one of the most successful coaches in school history.

Friendly and cordial, Judy was remembered with fondness by colleagues.

“He was a real nice guy,” said Steve Carnes, the former Leuzinger football coach and now the school’s athletic director. “I always enjoyed playing his teams.”

Judy’s last season at Palos Verdes was his most successful. After struggling in league play and barely making the playoffs in 1990, the Sea Kings reached the Southern Section Division VIII title game, losing at Temecula Valley. It was only the second time a Palos Verdes football team had reached a section final.

Judy applied for the Peninsula coaching job, which went to Rolling Hills’ Gary Kimbrell. He expressed interest in coaching at another school, but those plans were dashed by a series of illnesses.

Judy missed some school last spring and returned to teaching in the fall. He taught until two weeks before his death, according to friends.

In lieu of flowers, it has been requested that donations go to the school to establish an educational scholarship fund.

Carnes, who resigned as Leuzinger’s football coach after the 1990 season, says he might apply for the vacant Olympian job.

“I haven’t decided if I want to do that,” he said. “Anything is possible. I don’t know where I’m headed. I have urges to coach, but every time I get one I try to slap myself.”

Carnes said the school is accepting applications through April 10. Tom Jessee, who coached Leuzinger to a 4-6 record last fall, resigned after one season.

Prior to that, Carnes coached Leuzinger for seven seasons and consistently fielded winning teams. He guided the Olympians to their only Southern Section title in 1985.

Carnes said the time commitment is a major consideration in whether he will apply for the job. Aside from being Leuzinger’s athletic director, he is also serving as assistant principal on an interim basis.

“I miss coaching a lot, but I don’t know if that’s ultimately what I’m going to do,” he said. “I’ll make a decision before April 10.”

Stay tuned.

Rich Masson, who coached Carson’s basketball team to seven league titles in 10 seasons, has resigned.

“I’ve given notice that I want to take at least a year off,” he said. “I just need a little time to get away and see what direction I want to go in.”

Masson guided the Colts to the Pacific League title and the semifinals of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs last season. In 17 seasons as a head coach at L.A. Jordan and Carson high schools, his teams won 13 league titles and reached the City semifinals 10 times.

Carson was eliminated by Crenshaw in the semifinals last season, leaving Masson with 299 career victories, a fact he only recently discovered.

“If I had know I was that close (to 300 victories),” he said, “I would have scheduled an easy opponent early in the year.”

It’s good to see that after 20 years of coaching--he spent three seasons as an assistant under Dave Yanai at Fremont High--Masson still has a sense of humor. He will remain as a physical education teacher at Carson.

Bishop Montgomery will announce the hiring of a new football coach next week, Athletic Director Steve Carroll said.

Carroll, who resigned as coach after last season, said the school has narrowed its list to 10 candidates, down from 24 applicants. Carroll will resign as athletic director at the end of the school year.

Five South Bay basketball teams were ranked in final state top 10 polls by Cal-Hi Sports newsletter.

In boys’ basketball, Westchester was ranked fifth in Division I behind state champion St. Joseph of Alameda, Mater Dei, Jesuit of Carmichael and Capistrano Valley. State champion Morningside was ranked No. 1 in Division III.

In girls’ basketball, national and state champion Peninsula was ranked No. 1 in Division I, state runner-up Bishop Montgomery was ranked No. 3 in Division III behind Moreau of Hayward and Alemany, and St. Bernard was ranked No. 8 in Division III.

A total of 48 basketball officials from the South Bay unit were selected to work the state and Southern Section playoffs. Sylvester White and Danny Yee were assigned to a boys’ section final. Melissa Barlow, Paul Cohen and Julie Krause were assigned to girls’ finals.

Barlow went on to work in the regional playoffs and state tournament final in Sacramento. Bill Agopian and Michael Barnes officiated boys’ state regional games. Cohen, Garfield Finley and Krause worked girls’ regional games.