Releaguing Stirs a Public Reaction : High schools: Many coaches say parochial schools have unfair advantage competing in public-school leagues.

Eric Patton is sympathetic about the resentment he anticipates Santa Ana Mater Dei High will encounter this year after its move to the public South Coast League from the parochial Angelus League.

But Patton, the football coach at Capistrano Valley in Mission Viejo, is also convinced that Mater Dei does not belong.

“I think it’s like mixing apples and oranges,” Patton said. “I have a great deal of respect for what Mater Dei stands for, but I wonder if an in-depth investigation has ever been done on how many kids are actually Catholic.”

As part of the CIF Southern Section 1992-94 league realignment, Mater Dei joins Capistrano Valley, Dana Point Dana Hills, El Toro, Mission Viejo and San Clemente in the South Coast League. Mater Dei is the only parochial school.

The Angelus League, the source of 30 section championships since its inception in 1961, was disbanded.

Los Angeles Loyola, La Puente Bishop Amat and Bellflower St. John Bosco were moved to the parochial Del Rey League, joining Encino Crespi, Mission Hills Alemany and Santa Fe Springs St. Paul.

Anaheim Servite and Fullerton Rosary were moved to the Sunset League, and Santa Margarita was sent to the Sea View League. The Sunset and Sea View leagues include public schools.

Although he played football for and graduated from Mater Dei, Patton is among those who point to the advantage the school has in drawing students.

Public schools must adhere to enrollment boundaries, whereas private schools have no such restrictions.

Mater Dei won section championships in football, boys’ basketball and girls’ soccer last year. The basketball team’s title was its seventh section championship and the team also won its second state title in nine seasons.

“I didn’t go out and schedule Saddleback College and Orange Coast College, but that’s what happened when Mater Dei was put in the same league,” Patton said. “Mater Dei isn’t unbeatable, but we’re not playing by the same rules.”

Mark Paredes, the athletic director and football coach at Bishop Amat, disagrees.

“Private schools are always going to have a larger area to draw from,” Paredes said. “There are big public schools that are successful and small Catholic schools that are successful. But if you look across the board, there are many sports that aren’t winning in parochial schools.”

Gary McKnight, who also serves as Mater Dei’s athletic director, said the school would have preferred to remain in the Angelus League. But he added that long commutes and strained classroom and study time necessitated the move to the South Coast League.

“Athletically, it would be better to stay in the Angelus League because of the situation of having all Catholic schools,” McKnight said. “It was a very competitive league and the gate (receipts) were real good, but the kids were on the road too much.”

The Southern Section uses enrollment, strength of programs, number of sports offered and geography as the main criteria in making up leagues.

During a two-month span between December, 1990, and January, 1991, the Southern Section’s area placement committee twice denied a request by Santa Margarita, along with requests from Servite, Mater Dei and Rosary, to be grouped with Orange County schools for league placement.

The executive committee overturned the area placement committee’s recommendation in the spring of 1991 and the decision was taken to the state appeals board by Orange County principals before the four schools were eventually allowed to join the public school leagues for the 1992-94 cycle.

Despite all the opposition, Richard Schaaf, Santa Margarita’s athletic director, harbors no ill will and calls the school’s placement in the Sea View League with Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, Tustin, Irvine University, Irvine Woodbridge and Irvine, an ideal situation.

“Everybody was hesitant at first because it had never been done,” Schaaf said. “I think it’s fair and competitive, and we couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

But not everybody is ecstatic about Servite’s entry into the Sunset League. The league consisted of six schools from the Huntington Beach School District until Santa Ana and Servite were added.

George Berg, Fountain Valley’s football coach, says the inclusion of non-district schools disrupts uniformity. Although all schools must abide by section regulations for eligibility and transfers, Berg said the district schools are bound by stricter guidelines.

“Everybody was equal and had the same rules to keep everything up front and in control,” Berg said. “But now we’re at a disadvantage because we’re restricted.”

Berg is also concerned that the new alignment will keep a district school from advancing to postseason competition, resulting in loss of revenue. The top three teams in each league usually qualify for the playoffs.

The South Coast, Sea View and Sunset leagues will be not be reconsidered for realignment until 1994, but it is likely there will be a call for change.

“We’re not trying to make a big issue and dwell on it from our standpoint,” Patton said. “(The Southern Section) tried to do its best to bring together schools of same size in the community, but the CIF opened itself up for criticism and it’s going to have to suffer the consequences.”