Bernardi Leaves Burroughs for Assistant Post at UCLA

Gary Bernardi, who turned around Burroughs High’s football fortunes as a first-year coach in 1993, resigned Friday and accepted a job as an assistant to Coach Terry Donahue at UCLA.

Bernardi, who came to Burroughs last season after 12 years as an assistant at Arizona and UCLA under Larry Smith, led the Indians to 5-6 record and exceeded expectations by taking an inexperienced team to the Southern Section playoffs. Burroughs had finished 0-10 the previous season.

Bernardi’s decision did not surprise Burbank Unified School District trustee Bob Dunivant, Burroughs’ former football coach of more than 20 years.

“Just the way he ran practices and handled himself on the sidelines--he’s an excellent coach and he got everything out of the kids,” Dunivant said. “I’m sorry to see him go. We would like to have had him stay a little longer.”

Bernardi’s departure means Burbank district officials will have to find two football coaches in short order. Expected this week is the naming of a new coach at Burbank High.

Bryan Paul, the Moorpark High backup quarterback last year, will remain at Moorpark next season because the Southern Section ruled he would have been ineligible had he transferred to Thousand Oaks, said his father, George Paul.

The Section made its ruling because George Paul made contact with Thousand Oaks assistant Bob Shoup to discuss the potential transfer, a violation of California Interscholastic Federation rules.

“I’m very disappointed,” George Paul said. “He will stay at Moorpark.”

Although he is keeping Paul, a sophomore, Moorpark Coach Rob Dearborn was hardly overjoyed.

“If the kid is not happy at Moorpark, he should have the right to go where he pleases,” he said. “The shame is this coach got in the way and ruined this kid’s chances to go somewhere where he would have been happy.”