Leuzinger’s Carnes: 7 of 8 Football Players Were Eligible

Seven of eight Leuzinger students who allegedly were academically ineligible when they played varsity football last season were actually eligible after improving their grades in summer school, Athletic Director Steve Carnes said.

Responding to charges that he allowed ineligible athletes to play, Carnes said former Leuzinger sophomore coach Chris White jumped to false conclusions after seeing a list of ineligible players that was circulated among coaches in September.

White, who alleges that Leuzinger violated Southern Section rules pertaining to athletic eligibility and recruiting, said based on the list that he saw, Carnes knowingly allowed ineligible athletes to play varsity football for Leuzinger.

Carnes, however, said seven of the eight players in question had raised their grade-point averages to the required 2.0 by taking summer classes. Carnes said White saw the list before summer grades were posted.

“It’s exactly what I said it was,” Carnes said. “Whatever list (White) saw was pre-clearance grades. Those kids made up work during the summer.”

Carnes said an ineligible athlete played briefly for Leuzinger in the second game of the season against Paramount before being removed from the team.

“I pulled him out at halftime,” Carnes said. “It was the only game he played in, and I think all he did was return a kickoff. It was a situation that was remedied at the time.”

Carnes was able to respond to the charges after Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas forwarded a copy of White’s letter to Leuzinger. The letter to Thomas contained the names of students White alleges were allowed to play despite being ineligible. In a copy of the letter given to Centinela Valley school trustees, the names of the students were marked out by White.

Leuzinger Principal Derek Harrison said White, who was a walk-on coach and did not teach at the school, perhaps does not understand that it takes several weeks for summer grades to clear the school’s paperwork.

“When summer school grades are posted, if there are 300 kids, there are 300 grade changes,” Harrison said. “But sometimes there is a communication problem. Summer grades sometimes are not posted until a few months into the fall semester.”

Harrison said that coaches are responsible for following up on their athletes to check if they have met academic requirements for participation, thus speeding up the process.

That means that former varsity coach Tom Jessee, who was forced to resign after last season, was responsible for allowing an ineligible athlete to play against Paramount.

Additionally, White has accused Jessee of ordering him to illegally recruit athletes who live in Inglewood. Carnes said Leuzinger does not know the names of those students and has not conducted an investigation into the matter.

“Tom Jessee is no longer the coach,” Carnes said. “It’s a moot point.”

Carnes said Leuzinger plans to forward its findings to Thomas, who has said his office will conduct a hearing if there is any merit to White’s charges.

The Southern Section Executive Committee will conduct an open hearing next Thursday to review charges of rules violations brought by Leuzinger and Hawthorne against Inglewood. Some believe White’s charges against Leuzinger were a reaction to the charges against Inglewood and were fueled by supporters of Inglewood Principal Ken Crowe.

Gil Eberhard of Peninsula, Ron Kasparian of Westchester and Tim Ammentorp of Redondo have been selected as coaches in the 23rd annual South Bay All-Star Baseball Classic, to be played at 7 p.m. June 12 at El Segundo Recreation Park.

The fourth coach is expected to be either Jeff Phillips of Torrance or Harry Jenkins of West Torrance.

The game features the top seniors in the South Bay. The two teams will be selected by the coaches next Thursday.

One of the early picks for the South Bay All-Star Classic figures to be Redondo pitcher-outfielder Ted Silva, who appears to be a shoo-in for Ocean League player-of-the-year honors.

The right-hander improved to 9-1 Tuesday night by pitching a scoreless ninth inning in Redondo’s 7-6 victory over Culver City. Silva lowered his area-leading earned-run average to 0.25 and struck out two, giving him an area-best 87 strikeouts in 55 innings.

No slouch at the plate, Silva is batting .353 for the league champions.

John Jackson, who coached the Torrance girls’ soccer team to an unbeaten season and the Southern Section 3-A Division title, has enjoyed a successful season guiding the school’s softball team.

Torrance won the Pioneer League title Monday with a 3-0 victory over North Torrance, getting a four-hit shutout from Deanna Guerrero and run-scoring hits from Danelle Reed and Kristen White.

The Tartars (20-6, 9-3 in league) have been somewhat of a surprise because they have only one senior. They are hoping to get past the second round of the Southern Section playoffs, where their season has ended each of the past three years.

Notes

Ocean League champion Mira Costa has been seeded No. 2 and Bay League champion Peninsula has been seeded No. 4 for the Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs. Both teams have first-round byes and will begin the playoffs with second-round home matches Tuesday night. Mira Costa will play the Corona del Mar-Laguna Hills winner, and Peninsula will meet the Buena-Glendale winner . . . Jessica Tong of Chadwick will defend her titles in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events at the Southern Section 2-A Division swimming championships at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. The prelims start at noon Friday, with the finals set for noon Saturday.