Feuding Coaches Prepare for Showdown

Brent Carder says, “I know what you did last summer.” Chuck Lyon insists he wasn’t even there.

While the conflict between coaches remains in dispute, another will be resolved on the field Saturday night.

Lyon and Carder will stand eyeball to eyeball from a distance of 53 1/3 yards when Carder brings his Antelope Valley College football team to Canyons for a nonconference game against Lyon’s Cougars.

Aside from both teams putting their 1-0 records on the line, the game seems insignificant. But it will be the first meeting of the coaches since Carder filed a complaint in July against Lyon and Canyons for alleged recruiting violations.

Carder said three of his assistants told him they saw Lyon and one of his assistants talking to players on the field after a high school all-star game at Antelope Valley in June. Lyon, while admitting at least one of his coaches was present, denies he was at the game.

Canyons, which restarted its program last season after a 17-year hiatus, is prohibited from recruiting players in the Antelope Valley area unless players from schools in that area make contact with coaches first. Even if that occurs, coaches cannot speak to potential recruits within another school’s recruiting boundaries.

The matter is being investigated by commissioners of the Foothill and Western State conferences, of which the schools are members. A resolution is pending.

Meanwhile, Carder, in his 30th season with the Marauders, insists there are no hard feelings between the staffs and that the issue won’t spill onto the field.

“We’re not upset,” Carder said. “It’s not a matter of being upset. It’s a matter of filing a complaint and we’ve done that. It really never was a personal thing.”

Lyon, who said he was on a fishing trip in the Sierras the day of the all-star game, said he still has not spoken with Carder regarding the incident. Lyon said he is more concerned with damage to his reputation than whether any of his assistants violated rules.

“I’d like to see Brent Carder say, ‘We realized you weren’t there and we made a mistake,’ ” Lyon said. “I’ve never received a call from him.”

Canyons has five players on its roster from the Antelope Valley. Two were on the team last season and none are active for this weekend’s game.

“If I’m recruiting up there, I’m not doing a very good job,” Lyon said.

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Carder ranks second in the nation in longevity among active junior college football coaches. He ranks third in victories among active coaches.

Coach David Bolstorff is in his 32nd season at Waldorf (Iowa) College. Bolstorff, with 172 career victories, ranks second to John Eliaski of William Rainey Harper in Palatine, Ill., who has 189. Carder’s career record is 164-126-6.

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The Moorpark wrestling team, state champion three times in the 1990s, opens the season Saturday in the San Bernardino Valley dual meet tournament.

The Raiders, who finished a disappointing 16th in the state finals last December at Moorpark, have several talented newcomers, most notably Cristobal Gonzalez, a former state champion for Ventura High in 1998.

Gonzalez, state champion at 189 pounds, transferred to Moorpark after one season at Lassen College. He is expected to compete at 184 pounds.

“I’m really excited about this year’s team,” Moorpark Coach Paul Keysaw said. “If we can just keep the injury bug away.”

Sophomores Adam Kearny and Arsen Aleksanyan also transferred from Lassen. Kearny, 157 pounds, was a high school state champion in Nevada. Aleksanyan, 165 pounds, placed fourth for Santa Ana Calvary Chapel in the California finals in 1998.

Tiloi Tuitama, a two-time Channel League champion for Hueneme at 171, is one of several talented freshmen. Adam Benshea, a state qualifier for Dos Pueblos last season, is expected to compete at 197.

Freshman B.J. Wise, 133 pounds, was a two-time runner-up in the Pennsylvania state high school finals.

Moorpark, which won state titles in 1990, ’91 and ‘97, travels to Fresno City College on Oct. 7 for a meet against the state-champion Rams.

The state finals are scheduled Dec. 3-4 at Skyline College in San Bruno. The state dual meet finals will take place Nov. 13 at the site of the Southern Division champion.

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Casey Schmidt, the region’s best soccer forward last season at Newbury Park High, scored four goals in two games last week for Boston College.

Schmidt, a member of the U.S. under-18 national pool, had two goals in a 3-1 victory over Siena and two goals in a 3-0 victory over Army.