Golden Rule: Doubling Up to Cope With Low Turnout

The Golden League is ahead of its time. By about a day.

The league plays its junior varsity football games on Thursdays, instead of before varsity games on Friday nights, like almost every school in the region.

The plan, in its second season, is a good one.

It serves two primary purposes:

It gives varsity coaches a better chance to observe the progress of their younger players and, in the Golden League’s case, serves as a survival tactic.

While enrollment continues to explode at the six Antelope Valley Union High School District members--two more high schools are planned to open in the next few years--participation in football is declining.

Southern Section rules do not allow athletes to play at different levels on the same day.

With games on separate days, every school has begun suiting up junior varsity players to fill out their varsity rosters, serving as backups for depth-starved lineups on Friday night.

“We really have to do it this year,” said Coach Ray DeShane of Lancaster, which had to cancel its junior varsity game last week against Palmdale because of a dwindling roster. “We’re really down in numbers.”

The term “double dressing” has become as common as “dive right” in the High Desert.

Every varsity team in the league routinely suits up between five to 10 junior varsity players.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s just a sign of the times,” said Coach Jeff Williams of Palmdale, who figures to double dress six players this week. “It’s disappointing, but I’m hoping it’s something that will turn around.”

The league is not alone.

Crespi canceled its junior varsity program this season because of low turnout.

“If I had an answer for this problem, I’d probably make a lot of money,” Coach Pat Degnan of Quartz Hill said. “I sometimes wonder if kids are as interested in playing football anymore.”

There is hope.

From 1995-97, Granada Hills had a 3-27 record and a shrinking roster. The Highlanders, who were 12-1 last season, will suit up 55 varsity players and about 65 more on the junior varsity this week.

“It kind of goes in cycles,” co-Coach Tom Harp of Granada Hills said. “When we were down, we didn’t have this many.”

Personnel-wise, there’s a definite chasm between the haves and the have-nots.

Traditional power Hart plays in Southern Section Division III, the same as the Golden League.

It has 180 players in its program, 108 more than Quartz Hill, which has a larger enrollment.

Littlerock, defending Golden League champion, has 23 full-time varsity players. Lancaster has 27.

Compared to recent seasons, longtime league powerhouse Antelope Valley considers this a bumper year for participation. The Antelopes have 35 varsity players.

When the decade started, only three high schools in the district fielded football teams, and Antelope Valley and Quartz Hill were among the most feared and respected programs in the region.

Highland and Littlerock joined the league in 1992, and Lancaster began varsity play in the league in 1997, further diluting the talent pool in the High Desert.

The league continues to play among the toughest nonleague schedules in the region, which translated to a cumulative 11-19 record this season.

Highland’s three losses have been to Clovis West, Valencia and Corona Centennial, teams with a combined 19-2 record.

Antelope Valley started the season 0-4 after losses to traditional powerhouses Bishop Amat, Bakersfield, Sylmar and Compton Dominguez. One of Lancaster’s victories was against Chaminade, which is 5-2.

Quality losses or not, many students are less than enthusiastic about joining a program that has a losing record.

“It certainly doesn’t help that we’re not doing very well,” said Degnan, whose 2-5 Quartz Hill team has lost three games to teams that have been ranked in The Times’ regional top 10. “We’ve become a front-running society and, sadly, people forget that we are trying to teach a lot more than just winning.”

Fortunately, they are now teaching those things on many levels.