Effort Made to Resume Canyon Probe : Jurisprudence: Claiming new evidence of football violations, Southern Section seeks to remove injunction preventing an investigation.

The Southern Section, claiming it has new evidence of violations by Canyon High football Coach Harry Welch, again will attempt to investigate the Canyon football program.

In a hearing scheduled Aug. 14 in Lancaster Superior Court, section officials will attempt to remove an injunction that has prevented them from investigating the Canyon program until a suit filed by Welch against the Southern Section, Canyon and the William S. Hart Union High School District comes to trial.

Attorney Andy Patterson of the Southern Section, which had accused Welch of conducting an illegal practice, said that officials recently obtained a videotape of Canyon coaches conducting an off-season, illegal practice. In addition, Patterson said the section has evidence that Welch, the Cowboys’ coach of 10 years, deliberately used an injured player during a game last season.

“Given the state of the circumstances, we felt we had to make the court aware of that,” said Patterson, who added that both pieces of evidence were unsolicited.

Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas was out of town this week and could not be reached for comment.

Steve Tully, Welch’s attorney, characterized the Southern Section’s latest accusations as “really malicious,” and said that he will request sanctions against the Southern Section for its “frivolous action.”

“In keeping with the (Southern Section’s) past conduct with this matter . . . the most recent allegations are not supported by evidence,” Tully said.

Welch denied the allegations.

“I am personally really, really upset that Stan Thomas and the Southern Section continue to exacerbate this situation,” he said. “It appeared to me that the Superior Court judge made it very clear that these attacks would cease until this matter came to trial. It will become really, really clear that these accusations are completely untrue.”

Neither Welch nor Tully has viewed the videotape.

The injured player in question is linebacker Mark White, who sustained a broken left arm midway through last season during a game against Antelope Valley but returned to the lineup for the playoffs.

Welch claims White received medical clearance to play. Chuck White, who said his son was treated by several physicians, confirmed Welch’s claim, adding that he “begged” Welch to let his son play upon receiving medical clearance.

“We did it all in writing and so did the doctors,” Chuck White said. “We released all liability to everyone--the doctors, the school the (Southern Section), everybody.”

Harris Silver of Valencia, one of the physicians who treated Mark White, wrote a letter to the Southern Section office last December, indicating that he did not give clearance for White to play.

Chuck White said the letter was written after he had asked Silver not to release any medical information regarding his son. Silver did not return phone calls Wednesday.

White, who said he only recently read a copy of the letter, was angered by Silver’s action and said he filed a complaint this week with the Department of Consumer Affairs Medical Board of California.

Patterson said the Southern Section office did not contact Silver or White because of the injunction.

Welch and the Southern Section have been at odds since May, 1991, after the Newhall Signal published a photograph of a Canyon player hitting a blocking sled in the presence of teammates and an assistant coach. Southern Section rules prohibit the use of sleds and blocking dummies during the off-season.

Welch admitted that an infraction occurred but denied he was guilty of any violation.

After an investigation, the Southern Section recommended a one-year suspension of Welch that was later reduced to 5 1/2 months.

Welch won reinstatement in August when San Fernando Superior Court Judge Haig Kehiayan granted Welch a preliminary injunction that stayed the coach’s suspension until the case comes to trial.

Two months later, the judge modified the injunction to prevent the Southern Section from conducting a probe of the Canyon program during the injunction.

Tully said next month’s hearing was originally scheduled for today in San Fernando Superior Court. But because Kehiayan has transferred to Lancaster, the hearing will be moved so he can continue to preside.