Trabuco Hills Altered Footballs, Section Says

A second Southland football team has been found guilty of violating the Southern Section sportsmanship policy for doctoring a football during the 2002 playoffs, but no penalties will be assessed because Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills has since fired its football coach.

Los Alamitos, Division I champion, and Hacienda Heights Los Altos, Division VI champion, were also accused of altering logos on footballs to make them appear to be section-sanctioned Spalding balls, but section Commissioner Jim Staunton said Monday that investigations conducted by those schools uncovered no wrongdoing.

In April, Mission Viejo, the two-time Division II champion, was found to be in violation of the section’s sportsmanship policy for painting a Wilson football with a Spalding logo for the 2002 championship game.

The Diablos’ coaching staff was ordered to attend a two-day ethics seminar and the school has been banned from playing host to playoff games in 2003.

In the latest ruling, Staunton determined that Trabuco Hills used a doctored football in its 43-21 loss to Claremont in the first round of the Division II playoffs.

In March, Trabuco Hills Principal Marv Abrams, citing a need for “new leadership,” fired veteran coach Bill Crow, 60, who had a record of 40-43-1 in seven seasons.

Crow said Monday that he committed the violation because neither he nor Mike Collins, Claremont coach, brought Spalding balls to the field for their playoff game.

“We put a big gold ‘S’ [on another ball],” Crow said. “Spalding had a big ‘S’ like Superman on their ball.”

Investigations showed that Los Alamitos and Los Altos borrowed Spalding balls from La Palma Kennedy and West Covina South Hills, respectfully, for their championship finals at Edison Field, Staunton said. Los Alamitos defeated Santa Ana Mater Dei, 41-14, and Los Altos defeated Santa Ana Foothill, 27-10.

“Both [accused] schools were very clear to provide for me adequate proof that they did not use a doctored ball,” Staunton said.

The commissioner called for the investigations last month after the three schools were accused by several public speakers at a regularly scheduled meeting of the section’s executive committee of altering balls.

The section has a five-year, $250,000 sponsorship deal with Spalding, but Staunton has admitted that many football coaches do not like the company’s football.

-- Paul McLeod

Rally scoring will replace side-out scoring for all boys’ and girls’ volleyball games beginning in the 2003-04 school year, the California Interscholastic Federation’s executive committee has decided.

The new scoring format, designed to create a faster-paced game, was approved by the National Federation of State High School Assns. in January, giving individual states the option to begin using it in the 2003-04 school year but mandating its use no later than 2004-05.

The NFHS established the following volleyball rules, which were also adopted by CIF for use beginning this fall:

* All matches shall be best three-of-five games.

* Games shall be played to 25 points (no cap), and the fifth and deciding game shall be played to 15 points (no cap).

* The let serve shall be allowed, and play shall continue provided net contact is entirely within the net antennas.

-- Bob Rohwer