THE PREPS : Loyola Is Not Willing to Play Along With This Title Game

The first CIF/Reebok Bowl, which will be played Dec. 18 at Anaheim Stadium, matches champions of the Southern Section Division I and the City Division 4-A.

Although a lucrative five-year contract was signed with KCOP-TV, Channel 13, the game was designed to find out who is the best team in the Southland. With no state playoff system, it is viable alternative.

Apparently, however, not everyone likes the idea. Loyola High has announced that if it wins the Division I title, which is a clear possibility, it will turn down its invitation to the Reebok Bowl. School administrators, citing an already lengthy season, say the game would conflict with the fall semester’s final examination schedule for seniors.

“It’s asking a lot of your coaches and players to get up for a section championship and then come back the following week for another big game,” said Steve Grady, Loyola’s coach. “When do you get high and when do you get low?”

Loyola, an all-boys’ parochial school, is known for its emphasis on academics. Grady said administrators were adamant about not disrupting final exams.

Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner, understands the predicament, but is not happy about the decision.

“I’ve had several lengthy discussions with their principal and I understand his reason,” Thomas said. “I will not fight their stand. If I try to intervene, it would be a lose-lose situation.”

Thomas said if Loyola wins Division I, then the Division II champion would be the section representative in the bowl game.

Loyola, ranked No. 3 by The Times, will play host to No. 1 La Puente Bishop Amat Saturday night at Glendale High in a Del Rey League game matching 8-0 teams.

Although their stand is noble, Loyola administrators are setting an ugly precedent. The future of the bowl game will be bleak if champions refuse to participate. As a member of the the Southern Section, the school must play by the rules. It should not create its own.

Loyola’s decision is not upsetting any of the Division II powers. Coaches from No. 2 Los Alamitos and No. 4 Pasadena Muir have said they would like an opportunity to prove their teams are the best in the Southland.

There have been arguments that Division II is the Southern Section’s strongest this season. Second-ranked Los Alamitos upset previously top-ranked Anaheim Esperanza, 34-14, on Friday. Muir defeated No. 5 Fontana, 14-0, earlier this season.

Coaches John Barnes of Los Alamitos and Jim Brownfield of Muir said a few weeks ago that they were upset that the bowl game was locked into the Division I champion.

“It shouldn’t matter what division a team is in,” Brownfield said. “You would hope you’re going after the best game.”

Although Bishop Amat replaces Esperanza as The Times’ No. 1 team, a strong argument could be made in favor of Los Alamitos.

The Griffins, defending Division III champions, extended their winning streak to 15 with a surprisingly easy victory over the Aztecs.

Despite playing in very muddy conditions, Los Alamitos’ passing game was on target. Senior quarterback Tim Carey completed 10 of 20 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns. Seven of those completions and all three touchdowns went to George Sagen, who finished with 101 yards.

“The guy (Carey) is probably the best quarterback in the state, maybe the country, who knows?” said Gary Meek, Esperanza’s coach.

Los Alamitos’ victory was its second in a row over Esperanza. The Griffins ended the Aztecs’ 27-game winning streak in last season’s section final.

Brawley officials are upset that the school’s football game against Indio, scheduled for Oct. 23, has been declared a “no contest.”

That was the decision handed down Friday by a group of principals who represent the Desert Valleys League. No explanation was offered. Richard Fragale, Brawley’s principal, said he will appeal the decision to the Southern Section office.

“We want a forfeit, so we’re going to go after it,” Fragale said.

The controversy began when Indio refused to show up for its league game at Brawley, which had been the site of several protests earlier that week concerning a local shooting. Indio officials said they feared for their team’s safety.

Indio is 7-0 this season and Brawley 1-6.

Prep Notes

Nicole Randall of Fountain Valley will get her wish to participate in the pole vault on the school’s track team this spring. Randall threatened to take legal action against the CIF if it did not change its rule that limited pole vault competition to boys. The CIF Federated Council amended the rule at a meeting last weekend in San Diego. Girls can now participate in the event without jeopardizing their eligibility on the team. Randall was joined by Erica Hause of Santa Rosa Montgomery in her fight. Hause was also seeking legal recourse.

Michael Soylular, girls’ volleyball coach at Laguna Beach, was suspended for two matches last week for violating Southern Section rules during a recent alumni scrimmage. Three non-alumni, including a pro beach volleyball player, scrimmaged the school’s varsity team on Oct. 23. The match violated two section rules, including playing an alumni match in which the opposing team was not made up entirely of alumni, and participating in a contest that was not sanctioned by the league or section. Soylular, whose team is ranked No. 2 in the state, said he was unaware he had violated any rules.

Times’ Top 20 Football Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school football poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Bishop Amat SS I 8-0 2 2. Los Alamitos SS II 8-0 7 3. Loyola SS I 8-0 3 4. Muir SS II 7-1 5 5. Fontana SS I 7-1 8 6. Hart SS II 8-0 6 7. Esperanza SS II 7-1 1 8. Eisenhower SS I 6-1-1 4 9. Servite SS II 7-0-1 9 10. Ran. Alamitos SS VII 7-1 11 11. Hawthorne SS III 7-1 13 12. Baldwin Park SS III 8-0 14 13. Nogales SS III 7-1 10 14. Irvine SS IV 7-1 15 15. Carson City 4-A 5-2-1 20 16. North Torrance SS IX 8-0 17 17. Sylmar City 4-A 7-0 18 18. Redlands SS I 6-2 19 19. Mater Dei SS I 6-1-1 12 20. Saugus SS II 6-1-1 NR