Neutral Site Sought for Football Games Between Dorsey, Banning

Hoping to avert the national attention drawn by last season’s football game, administrators from Dorsey and Wilmington Banning high schools are working out details on a five-year agreement that would move the meeting to a neutral site.

The contract probably will take effect this season, with the game being played Saturday afternoon, Nov. 14, at El Camino College in Torrance. At the moment, the game is scheduled for the evening of Nov. 13 at Dorsey’s home field of Jackie Robinson Stadium.

“Our hope is to redirect the focus of the game,” said Beverly Clarkson, Dorsey assistant principal. “It is a perfect opportunity for us to make this a positive experience for both schools far down the road. It is also a chance to play in a bigger stadium and make more money.”

Dorsey and Banning compete in the City Section’s Southern Pacific Conference. Joe Dominguez, who resigned as Banning’s coach last March, refused to let his team play a regular-season game at Dorsey last season for fear of gang violence.

Jackie Robinson Stadium was the site of two apparently gang-related shootings last October, prompting Dominguez’s refusal to play.

Despite pleas from Mayor Tom Bradley, then-Police Chief Darryl Gates and a number of Los Angeles Unified School District administrators that Banning play the game, Dominguez would not relent and the school forfeited.

The teams eventually met for the Division 4-A championship at El Camino. Without incident, Dorsey won, 33-30, before 10,000.

“We want the game to be the focus and not all the outside elements,” said John Newton, Banning’s athletic director. “We’re all after the same thing. Everyone that witnessed the title game knows what a positive thing this can be in the right setting.”

Paul Knox, Dorsey’s coach, said he favors playing this season’s game at Dorsey and moving future contests to a neutral site. But he said he realizes why administrators are eager for the other arrangement.