Sciarra Suspended for Illinois Game

UCLA backup quarterback John Sciarra received a one-game suspension Monday for his Aug. 8 arrest on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct-public intoxication and giving false information to a police officer, leaving the Bruins thin at quarterback for Saturday night’s game against Illinois at the Rose Bowl.

Drew Olson will be the starter, having taken over for Matt Moore, who was knocked out of Saturday’s game against Colorado by a knee injury. With Sciarra unavailable, the Bruins’ backup Saturday will be Brian Callahan, a freshman walk-on whose primary responsibility has been running the scout team in practice.

The 5-foot-11, 189-pound Callahan, son of Oakland Raider Coach Bill Callahan, didn’t even start a game in high school -- he was a backup at Concord De La Salle, behind current Michigan reserve quarterback Matt Gutierrez, for two seasons.

The depth chart gets even more dicey after Callahan -- the Bruins’ third-string quarterback for Saturday is a walk-on wide receiver, sophomore Josh Roenicke, who was converted back to quarterback -- the position he played at Grass Valley’s Nevada Union High -- in Tuesday’s practice.

How precarious is the Bruin quarterback situation?

“We may have to line you up to play,” UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell told a television reporter after Tuesday’s practice. “We’re in a tough situation, but we have to do what’s right, and what’s right is to issue a suspension. Hopefully we’ll get through this game without anything major happening. Hopefully it won’t be a distraction.”

Sciarra, who ran the scout team at Tuesday’s practice, declined to comment. Dorrell said Sciarra “is disappointed, he feels he let his teammates down. I’m sure he learned a big lesson from this.”

He apparently didn’t learn one from Cory Paus, the former UCLA quarterback who concealed two alcohol-related convictions from former Coach Bob Toledo in 2001, only to have the arrests come to light days before the USC game that season. Sciarra, however, was acting on the advice of his attorney, Santa Ana-based Vince LaBarbera.

Dorrell said he was “very disappointed John did not come forward with the information until asked. I respect the fact that John’s lawyer advised John to let him handle the matter through the legal process, but I expect our players to come to our coaches when a situation occurs.”

LaBarbera acknowledged advising Sciarra to conceal the arrest because in dozens of similar cases he has handled involving first-time offenders and low-level crimes, he has been able to resolve the cases before charges were formally filed by getting his clients to agree to enter alcohol-diversion programs or perform community service.

Sciarra was arrested at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 8 by officers responding to a call from a Newport Beach convenience store manager claiming Sciarra and another man, 23-year-old Chad Heydorff of La Canada Flintridge, were causing a disturbance.

When officers arrived, they determined Sciarra and Heydorff were intoxicated and placed them under arrest, but Sciarra gave an incorrect name. After Sciarra was booked at the police station, officers learned his true name, and he was charged with an added count of providing false information to a police officer.

“He had to make a decision on where to draw the line,” LaBarbera said of Sciarra. “I asked him if he got a speeding ticket, would he tell the coach? He said no. That’s the level of seriousness that I view this case. So give me an opportunity to talk to the district attorney before [charges are formally filed]....

“This wasn’t a drunk-driving case, which obviously is going to be filed. He wasn’t putting others in danger. It was not drug- or sex-related.... It was someone who walked into a convenience store, and had maybe a little too much to drink. What 20-year-old kid hasn’t had a couple of beers?

“In a best-case scenario, I would hope charges wouldn’t be filed.... I’m still hoping to get the charges dropped, but there’s been so much media attention, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that.”

UCLA’s football program has been plagued by such negative attention over the last few years, with numerous off-the-field incidents and arrests contributing to the firing of Toledo last December.

Sciarra’s arrest was the second to come to light under Dorrell’s watch -- reserve cornerback Marcus Cassel was suspended for last week’s game after being arrested in late June on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence.

“Karl addressed the team [Tuesday] and made his expectations clear, that the bottom line is we need to know about these things,” UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said. “Obviously, these are not positive issues, but we want to be able to address them in a timely manner.”

Guerrero saw a correlation in the latest two incidents, in that both occurred over the summer, when players have minimal contact with coaches.

“Maybe there’s a perception that when you’re at home, you’re not representing the university,” Guerrero said. “But they’re representing this university 365 days a year, and it was important to re-emphasize that.”

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Tight end Marcedes Lewis, who caught six passes for 96 yards Saturday against Colorado, tweaked his right ankle again early in Tuesday’s practice and had to leave for treatment. But Lewis, who has been bothered by the ankle injury for several weeks, returned to finish practice and is expected to play Saturday.... Linebacker Spencer Havner, who sat out the second half of Saturday’s game because of a sprained shoulder and was listed as doubtful Monday, was able to practice Tuesday, a strong indication that he will be able to play Saturday.... Moore is supposed to be out four to six weeks because of his knee injury, but the quarterback said Tuesday that he hopes to return for the Pacific 10 Conference opener against Washington on Oct. 4.