Valencia Pays Tribute After Team Tragedy

A black shoulder patch will adorn the uniforms of the Valencia High basketball team for the rest of the season, a painful reminder and poignant tribute.

Sean Williams, 17, a senior and the Vikings’ team manager, died Saturday from burns suffered during a fire Thursday at his home in Val Verde.

Williams suffered second- and third-degree burns over 43% of his body. His half-brother, Patrick Crawford, 7, died Sunday from burns suffered in the fire. Two other people were injured in the blaze, which remains under investigation.

The much-publicized tragedy has shaken the close-knit community of 2,000, as well as the four-year-old Valencia campus. And it stunned members of the team Williams strived to join.

“Sean tried out for two years and didn’t make it,” said Coach Gary Spindt of Valencia. “But that didn’t stop him from wanting to be a part of this team. He came up to me this year and asked if he could be the manager.

“His responsibility, for one, was filming our games. He was an integral part of our team and one of the most popular kids on campus. The season will be for Sean and his memory.”

Coaches and players plan to attend Williams’ funeral Saturday at 2 p.m. at Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

Spindt visited Williams in the hospital the day before his death.

“We all signed a basketball and a card,” Spindt said. “But we weren’t able to give them to him in time.”

*

Simi Valley is a decisive favorite against Newbury Park in a Marmonte League game tonight at Newbury Park. Translation: Simi Valley is in trouble.

The Pioneers have lost five of the last six league games against Newbury Park despite having, for the most part, more talented teams.

This year is no exception. The Pioneers (11-2), ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, have one of the best post players in the region--New Mexico-bound Rafael Berumen--and a pair of strong guards, Branduinn Fullove and Brett Michel.

Newbury Park (9-3), ranked No. 9, has little more than guard Brian Bobik and mystique on its side.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Coach Steve Johnson of Newbury Park said. “I think we’ve been fortunate and we’ve had a couple of good teams.

“There’s been a lot of attention on their team the past couple years and it’s raised the bar in terms of what we want to be as a team. One of our goals every year is to beat the best team on our schedule, and the teams they’ve had the past couple years have made us work that much harder. We’re successful because they’re successful.”

*

It took little time for Bell-Jeff to fill the scoring void left by the graduation of Ruben Douglas, The Times’ 1997-98 Valley player of the year.

Junior guard Mike Yildiz is third among Southern Section scorers in the region with a 25.4 average and has scored more than 30 points in six of his last seven games.

He also performed particularly well in the clutch.

On Saturday, he made a free throw in the waning seconds to give the Guards a one-point victory over Whitney in a St. Anthony tournament game.

“He’s really taken over from where Ruben left off,” Coach Eli Essa said.

Yildiz is accustomed to comparisons.

He transferred to Bell-Jeff last summer from Grant, where as a sophomore, he played in the shadow of Gilbert Arenas, who is leading the region in scoring with a 36.5 average.

*

Chaminade, defending Southern Section III-A champion, figures to have an easier postseason with the expected playoff realignment this season.

Chaminade (26-2 last season), ranked No. 3 in The Times’ regional poll, defeated Bishop Montgomery, 80-66, in the section final and Compton Centennial, 69-39, in a quarterfinal. No rematches will stand in the way of the Eagles’ chance to repeat.

Bishop Montgomery has applied to move up to the Division III-AA playoffs.

Centennial, because of lower enrollment, is expected to be placed in Division IV.

The Southern Section is expected to release playoff divisions for boys and girls this week.

“I don’t think [Division III-A] is strong as it has been,” said Coach Jeff Young of Chaminade. “Without Bishop Montgomery--the clear-cut favorite--that helps us.”

*

Santa Clara is ranked No. 2 in the region by The Times, a fact that Coach Lou Cvijanovich has made well aware to his players.

“I told them, ‘You guys don’t read The Times like I do, but we’re ranked second behind Simi Valley and that’s very prestigious,’ ” Cvijanovich said.

“Some schools never have seen that. Now’s our time to keep that up. If we lose, we’re going to go down the barrel.”

The Saints (15-1) haven’t done much of that, losing by only six to Simi Valley (11-2) earlier in the season. The backcourt of B.J. Ward and Nick Jones, who have signed with UC Santa Barbara, are averaging a combined 41.9 points.

Staff writer Vince Kowalick and correspondents Mike Bresnahan and Dave Desmond contributed to this notebook.