They Tiptoe Around History : Prep football: Banning, Dorsey say last year’s forfeit is best forgotten, and this year’s meeting is like ‘any other game.’

On the football fields at Wilmington Banning and Dorsey highs this week, it has been business as usual. There has been plenty of preparation for Saturday’s game.

But of greater significance, there has been no talk of a forfeit. Coaches and players seemed intent on avoiding that subject.

“That was last year’s news,” said Antonio Carrion, a senior wide receiver at Dorsey. “I haven’t heard the incident mentioned once this week. I think it is well behind us.”

Last year, the schools made national headlines when Banning refused to play Dorsey at its home field, Jackie Robinson Stadium. The stadium, adjacent to Dorsey in southwest Los Angeles, was the site of two apparently gang-related shootings last fall.

One of the incidents occurred during the fourth quarter of a game between Dorsey and Crenshaw.

Joe Dominguez, then Banning’s coach, said he feared for his team’s safety and would not allow the Pilots to play at Jackie Robinson Stadium. District athletic officials refused to move the game, so Dorsey won by forfeit.

The schools eventually met in the City Division 4-A championship and, without incident, Dorsey won, 33-30, before 12,000 at El Camino College in Torrance.

For failing to play the regularly scheduled game, Banning’s athletic department was put on probation for a year, and the football team was ordered to play this season’s Dorsey game at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Officials from both schools signed a two-year deal in September to play their future matchups at El Camino College. Jerelene Wells, Dorsey’s principal, said the deal allows Dorsey an opportunity to make more money and avoid potential problems.

Not all, though, are pleased that Saturday’s game, which begins at 1 p.m., is being played at El Camino. Many Dorsey coaches, players and parents circulated a petition asking to move the game to Jackie Robinson Stadium. About 500 signatures were gathered and presented to Wells.

“Our feeling as parents was that if the game wasn’t played at Dorsey, then we wouldn’t allow our kids to play at all,” said Ava Shah, whose son, Sultan Ali, is the team’s quarterback. “But the school administrators refused to back down and change their mind.”

Shah said parents reversed their stance about refusing to let their kids play in the game when they learned Dorsey would be barred from the playoffs for purposely forfeiting a game. The rule was implemented last year after Banning’s forfeit.

How much more money Dorsey stands to make because of the site change remains to be seen. The schools filled the stadium at El Camino College for last year’s final, but that was because both teams had successful seasons.

This year, they have struggled. Dominguez stepped down last spring and was replaced by assistant Ed Paculba. The Pilots are 3-2 in the Southern Pacific Conference and 6-3 overall. Dorsey is 3-1-1 and 4-2-1. Carson has already won the conference title.

“We’re just treating this as any other game,” said Brandon Moore, a senior defensive back at Banning. “This game is for second place in the conference and an automatic berth in the upcoming playoffs. We don’t want to make more out of it than that.”