One Transfer Divides Friends, Unites Family : Football: Crescenta Valley High tackle Oshin Honarchian is still trying to sort out his emotions since changing schools.

One of his childhood friends was stabbed to death. He switched schools so quickly, rumors swirled of recruiting violations.

He shed his beloved ponytail and goatee to conform to the rules of his new team. Then he was forced to watch from the sidelines while his eligibility was questioned.

His parents’ reunion not only cleared the way for his return, it might lead to their reconciliation three years after a divorce.

Even if Oshin Honarchian could bottle all the emotions he has experienced in the past few months, would he ever find a label large enough to list the ingredients?

At least, Honarchian, an All-Pacific League defensive lineman who transferred last summer from Hoover High to Crescenta Valley, is able to appreciate how his life has changed.

“It’s funny,” Honarchian said, pausing to consider his situation. “I didn’t want to come here. I told my parents: ‘All my friends are [at Hoover].’ It was hard to say goodby, that’s for sure. But then, suddenly, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. It’s funny what getting used to a place will do for you.”

Honarchian (6 feet 5, 250 pounds), a two-way tackle, will suit up against his former teammates tonight when Crescenta Valley (5-2, 1-1 in league play) meets Hoover (3-3-1, 0-2) at Glendale High.

Honarchian has mixed feelings about slamming his body into his former teammates. He still considers most of them close friends.

But across town, resentment over Honarchian’s departure is evident.

“He’s a great guy,” Hoover linebacker Jin Hur said. “But, obviously, he’s one of them now. He turned his back on us.”

Hoover Coach Dennis Hughes said he and his players “were shocked” by Honarchian’s transfer. “It was a tough experience for all of us,” Hughes said. “He was a big part of this team.”

Honarchian said he occasionally is taunted by friends and former teammates about how Crescenta Valley lured away the Tornadoes’ best lineman.

“I’ve heard all of that,” Honarchian said. “They’re cool about it, but they say stuff like: ‘So, how much they payin’ you?’ ”

Actually, Honarchian said, his transfer had nothing to do with football and everything to do with life.

Last May, a Hoover student and friend of Honarchian was stabbed to death in an after-school fight at a local park. Honarchian was at home studying when Tony Petrossian, 17, was murdered just a few blocks from campus.

Honarchian shies away from discussing the death of his friend--other than to acknowledge that it was a difficult loss.

“I didn’t believe it,” Honarchian said. “I didn’t want to believe it.”

The incident deeply disturbed Victor Honarchian and his ex-wife, Flora Thomas. Both described it as a last straw.

Their son’s grades were slipping, and he spent too much of his free time hanging out with friends. Now, one of those friends was dead.

“Oshin is a big, strong man,” Thomas said. “But even one knife or bullet doesn’t stop because of his size. When you change atmosphere, you hope for the better.”

Victor Honarchian has retained primary legal custody of his son, but Oshin moved in with his mother three years ago because his father was experiencing health problems. The couple’s 15-year-old daughter, Biana, has lived with her mother since the divorce.

Both parents lived within the Hoover attendance area. When Honarchian’s father decided to move to an apartment near Crescenta Valley last summer, Oshin moved with him.

“The main reason was because he wasn’t doing good academically and he was getting away with a lot of things,” Victor Honarchian said. “I was reviewing his last year’s grades, and I said I just didn’t want him to be there. I wanted him in a new school, a new environment, a new neighborhood, everything else.”

Honarchian enrolled in summer school at Crescenta Valley, and Alan Eberhart, the school’s football coach, immediately spotted him in a counselor’s office.

“I knew who he was because he had a unique haircut,” Eberhart said. “I asked the secretary and she said he was enrolling in Crescenta Valley. We were kind of hurt by accusations that we recruited this kid. The football team isn’t why kids come to Crescenta Valley.”

Honarchian, short-haired and clean-shaven, has been a welcome addition to the Falcons, who jumped to a 5-1 start before losing to Muir, 33-0. Honarchian provided constant pressure on quarterbacks--at least, for the first three games.

Honarchian’s eligibility came into question upon discovery of a little-known Southern Section rule stipulating that a player’s residency for his high school career is established at the time he is a freshman. At that time, Honarchian was residing with his mother.

Honarchian did not play in the Falcons’ 28-21 victory over Burroughs while the matter was being investigated. Crescenta Valley administrators say they have reported their findings to the Southern Section office and are awaiting a reply. Bob Canfield, the school’s athletic director, said he expects the Falcons to forfeit three nonleague victories in which Honarchian played.

“When the coach told me we might have to forfeit some games, I started crying,” Honarchian said. “I didn’t want to show my face.”

At a meeting with school administrators, Thomas and Victor Honarchian were told that the situation would be remedied if both parents lived within the Crescenta Valley attendance area.

After much consideration, a separation that has lasted 4 1/2 years ended when Thomas and Biana moved in with Honarchian and his father.

“Sometimes, when your child is having a problem, you forget your stubbornness and put your differences aside,” Thomas said.

Honarchian returned in the Falcons’ 7-6 victory over Glendale. His grades are improving and, although he likely will attend Glendale College next fall rather than a university, he says he has learned the importance of cracking the books.

He also has learned the importance of family.

“It’s funny, my parents haven’t talked for years but now they’re actually talking again,” he said. “They’re getting along a lot better and I’m happy about that. I think it’s because of all this. At least, it’s helping. Who knows?”

“So far, so good,” Victor said of his relationship with his former wife.

“Maybe God is guiding us to a reunion through Oshin,” he said. “Recently, we had been talking, but not at the speed since this happened. Right now, Oshin needs emotional support. From all of us.”