Grady Goes the Extra Mile : Prep football: Loyola coach turns up his intensity for Southern Section Division I final against Bishop Amat.

A student caught talking too much in Steve Grady’s typing class will probably be told to type a few “extra hundred words.”

A football player caught messing around at one of Coach Grady’s practices might be told to run a few “extra laps” for punishment.

Grady says he does have a warm side. He also acknowledges, however, that he probably won’t win any popularity contests among his students and players.

What Grady has been winning are football games. As coach of Loyola High, he has a 153-42-4 record since taking over in 1976. During that time, the Cubs have won 10 league titles and qualified for the playoffs 16 times.

Grady, 47, goes after his second Southern Section championship tonight against La Puente Bishop Amat at 7:30 at Anaheim Stadium. Loyola won it all two years ago by beating Quartz Hill, 24-14.

If players thought Grady was serious during the season, it was nothing compared to his intensity in the playoffs.

Players spend their lunch hours eating sandwiches in the dark while viewing videotape of Bishop Amat games. They remain quiet as the coach points out formations and unusual patterns.

Practice starts a little earlier and ends a little later. And Grady spends several extra hours each day working on strategy. Loyola’s only loss this season was to undefeated Bishop Amat.

“I work my butt off during football season,” said Grady, whose playoff record of 13-3 since 1988 is the best in the division. “Hopefully, I create an environment where the players have a chance to be successful. Being successful is a lot of what this school is all about.”

Loyola, an all-boy Catholic school two miles west of downtown Los Angeles, is known for more than winning football teams. The school’s 1,100 students must score high on tough entrance exams to gain admittance. Gifted athletes do not get preferential treatment.

Most graduates--90%--attend four-year universities. And although most students participate in one or more of the 11 varsity sports offered, the emphasis is on education.

Loyola administrators recently stirred controversy when they announced that the football team, if it won the Southern Section title, would not participate in the new CIF/Reebok Bowl, which matches the Southern Section Division I and City Division 4-A champions on live television Dec. 18 at Anaheim Stadium. Administrators cited a conflict with senior exams as its reason.

Grady understands the Loyola tradition better than most. He attended the school from 1959-63 and was a star on the football team. A three-year starter, it was not until his senior season that the 6-foot, 200-pound Grady got his long-awaited chance to play running back.

He made the most of the opportunity, gaining more than 2,000 yards and scoring 36 touchdowns while helping lead Loyola to a 12-0 record and a section championship. He was selected Southern Section player of the year and was recruited by colleges across the country, eventually selecting USC.

“My father had taken me to many USC games at the Coliseum when I was a youngster,” said Grady, who grew up near Dorsey High in southwest Los Angeles. “That was the team I fell in love with as a kid and a place I always dreamed of going.”

At USC, he was overshadowed in the backfield, first by Mike Garrett and later by O.J. Simpson. Both won the Heisman Trophy.

“I really just wanted to run with the football, and maybe I would’ve had more of a chance somewhere else,” Grady said.

He was taken by the Denver Broncos in the 17th round of the NFL draft in 1968, then was cut by them and later by the Cincinnati Bengals.

He returned to Los Angeles and married his college sweetheart, Marianne French, who was working as an elementary school teacher in Palos Verdes. He went to work in his father’s rental equipment business for a couple of years, then returned to Loyola in 1971 as an assistant coach.

Loyola has enjoyed considerable success during his tenure. It has been a regular visitor to the playoffs and annually ranked among the top teams in the Southland.

Grady favors the run and a tough defense over the pass. Critics often accuse him of being too conservative, citing his lone title-game appearance as proof.

Those who have watched a Loyola game in the last 17 years know Grady is far from calm. He runs up and down, pounds his fists, occasionally throws down his headset and constantly screams, often using rough language.

Grady also does not normally form close relationships with players, saying that the thing that concerns him most is not friendship but that players remember him as a guy who gave them a chance to win and be successful.

He reserves his close relationships for his family--his wife and sons Bryan, John and Michael.

Bryan, 15, a sophomore at Loyola, was born with muscular dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair. A straight-A student, Bryan is also an avid sports fan. He attends most of Loyola’s practices and all of its games.

John and Michael, 11 and twins, are active in soccer, basketball and baseball.

“Having Bryan has had a big effect on me,” Grady said. “It makes you realize that life cannot be taken for granted. People don’t realize how lucky they are.”

Grady considers himself lucky.

“I never thought I would teach or coach,” he said. “And I never thought I’d end up back at Loyola. But I’m satisfied how things have turned out. I feel I’ve been successful.”