Area News : CENTRAL CITY

Joe Maiale got something of a late start as the football coach at Fairfax. Maiale, a former junior varsity coach at Reseda Cleveland, was hired three weeks ago and missed valuable practice time in the spring and summer. His first day on the job, Maiale told his 35 players he was implementing a wing-T offense. They learned it quickly. The Lions routed Granada Hills, 34-6, in last week’s opener. “When I showed up, the kids were just so happy to finally have a coach they didn’t care what changes I made,” Maiale said. . . . To try to curb fighting, the City Section recently implemented a rule in which an athlete ejected from a game must sit out the next game as well. Officials are considering a similar rule for coaches. . . . On Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. all City Section athletes out for a fall sport will take a break from practice to attend a session that reviews rules for maintaining eligibility. “I was tired of hearing athletes break rules and then say they didn’t know what the rule was,” said Barbara Fiege, section commissioner. “This session should help alleviate that problem.”