Antelopes’ Playoff Game Is Hottest Ticket in Town

Football fever gripped this high-desert community Thursday as the Antelope Valley High School Antelopes prepared for tonight’s CIF Southern Section semifinal playoff game against Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana.

Agriculture students spruced up the playing field, while city leaders and athletic boosters scurried to raise $12,000 for temporary bleachers to almost double the field’s seating capacity of 4,500.

“We’re pretty happy . . .,” said Shawne Chamberlin, 15, who along with classmates was applying green dye to the field. “It’s not often that they get in the playoff.”

Last month, students weren’t so happy. School spirit sank to an all-time low when the school’s winning football team was ousted from post-season play.

But the mood has turned around 180 degrees since then, thanks to a change of heart by officials that allowed the team to compete in the playoffs--and the Antelopes’ 21-7 win last week over Bishop Amat, California’s top-ranked high school team.

Even off campus in restaurants, bars and businesses, the Antelopes’ rebound was a hot conversation topic Thursday.

“This has all happened so quickly,” said Dave Jacobs, co-owner of the Buffalo Club, a Lancaster bar and restaurant that caters to sports fans. “Two weeks ago, they were out of it. Now, they’re one of the favorites to win it.”

One of his customers, service station operator Jeff Little, said he wouldn’t consider missing tonight’s game. Little, 38, played quarterback for the Antelopes in the early 1970s.

“It’s a big deal up here,” he said. “Everybody comes up here and thinks we’re country bumpkins. They’re finding out we’re a lot tougher and smarter than they think.”

Antelope Valley High, opened in 1912, is one of the area’s most enduring institutions, with a history of standout sports teams.

As a result, students, parents and other fans were stunned in mid-November when the Golden League, which includes the Antelopes, ruled that the team could not compete in post-season play.

Although the Antelopes were ranked 13th in the state, league officials said the team had to forfeit three victories in which it had used a player who was academically ineligible. That changed the team’s record from eight wins and two losses to five wins and five defeats--not high enough to qualify for post-season games.

On Nov. 17, angry parents and players converged on an Antelope Valley Union High School District board of trustees meeting. But before they could speak, board president Steve Landaker said trustees already had decided to appeal the league’s decision.

Local high school principals, who oversee the league, ultimately voted to allow the team to compete in post-season play.

The principals concluded that Antelope Valley officials did not know that the player, who had just transferred from another state, hadn’t earned high enough grades to participate in team sports. In addition, the principals noted that the student was a reserve player, who competed only briefly in the late moments of three lopsided victories.

“It was a paper error on my part that caused the situation,” said Pat Iaccino, the vice principal who supervises athletics. “It could have been a real ugly situation. But the kids held their heads up and accepted their fate and got on with their lives.”

Iaccino credited the school’s booster club for pressing league officials to reconsider the team’s disqualification.

After the appeal succeeded, the Antelopes beat Fontana, then Bishop Amat, which was ranked first in California and sixth in the nation by USA Today. That set the stage for today’s California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section semifinal game against Mater Dei.

In order to play the game on its home field, Antelope Valley had to boost the seating far above the usual 4,500.

With less than a week to go before the game, city leaders and booster club members stepped in. They borrowed bleachers from the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds and from Rockwell International, which uses the seating for space-shuttle landings at nearby Edwards Air Force Base.

The remaining bleachers, seating another 2,500 fans, were rented for $12,000. Funds raised by the booster club paid for part of the expense for the extra seating.

Lancaster Mayor Arnie Rodio also has pitched in, seeking donations from local residents and business owners.

Rodio said Thursday that the game will be a boost to the local economy, bringing in about 5,000 outsiders who may patronize local restaurants and hotels.

But, the mayor said the team’s success also is a matter of civic pride.

“You get a team like Antelope Valley, which wasn’t even supposed to be in the playoffs, and now they’re in the semifinals,” he said. “I think you’ll see one of the biggest crowds we’re ever had at the high school. Everybody’s excited.”