Alpha League Members Vote to Kick Out Montclair Prep : High schools: Principals cite “philosophical differences and strength of program” for their action.

Montclair Prep, long at odds with the Southern Section over recruiting violations, was voted out of the Alpha League on Wednesday by league members, reducing the school to free-lance status effective next school year.

Five Alpha League members voted unanimously to oust Montclair Prep in a three-hour meeting of school principals at Marshall High in Pasadena. The league cited “philosophical differences and strength of program” for the move that Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas said is unprecedented in section history.

Montclair Prep, a Southern Section champion in football in 1990 and baseball in ’90 and ‘91, must wait until the 1994 releaguing cycle to join a league, unless the school can find a league to accept it by next fall. School officials say those chances are slim. They also accused Thomas of waging a vendetta against the school.

“It is morally and ethically wrong to attempt to further punish Montclair Prep,” said Dan Grigsby, who has represented the school in its battles with the Southern Section. “If the league has legitimate concerns about competition, that should be handled at releaguing time. If this wasn’t Montclair Prep, it wouldn’t have been handled like this. This is a personal vendetta by Stan Thomas.”

Thomas, who attended the meeting with section attorney Eric Paris, refused comment on those charges and called the decision just.

“There have been so many problems with them of late and people have concerns with what goes on there,” Thomas said. “The bottom line is they have violated rules. The vote was unanimous. Five principals of good schools agreed.”

Despite Wednesday’s vote, four of five league members agreed to honor football commitments with the private school in Van Nuys next fall. L.A. Baptist delayed its decision.

The ill will between Montclair Prep and the Southern Section dates to September, 1990, when the section launched an investigation into alleged recruiting violations in the football program. On the eve of a hearing in April, 1991, the school admitted to violations and accepted sanctions that banned the school from postseason play in all sports for the current school year and barred the football team from the playoffs for two years.

However, after a key witness recanted his testimony against the school in November, the Southern Section reduced penalties, allowing the football team to regain playoff eligibility for next fall.

In December at an Alpha League meeting that excluded Montclair Prep, the league voted to accept Montclair Prep’s “voluntary withdrawal.” But after Montclair Prep protested, the Southern Section instructed the league to rescind its vote and reconvene with Montclair Prep in attendance, a move that led to Wednesday’s meeting.