Column High School

Santa Margarita's football team will be on a victory recognition tour over the next few weeks, with campus assemblies, recognition from the City Council and a team banquet. But somebody should tell Coach Harry Welch and Principal Ray Dunne to halt the pomp and circumstance until a very serious matter is addressed: How did two assistant football coaches convicted of marijuana possession continue to coach all season with no notification to parents or players? The school finally acted Thursday night and fired the two coaches, but the question remains, why wasn't action taken sooner?

Santa Margarita's football team will be on a victory recognition tour over the next few weeks, with campus assemblies, recognition from the City Council and a team banquet. But somebody should tell Coach Harry Welch and Principal Ray Dunne to halt the pomp and circumstance until a very serious matter is addressed: How did two assistant football coaches convicted of marijuana possession continue to coach all season with no notification to parents or players? The school finally acted Thursday night and fired the two coaches, but the question remains, why wasn't action taken sooner?

Football isn't the easiest sport to play for a teenager who weighs 155 pounds and is being chased by 250-pounders while running through holes created by 300-pounders. Robert Lewis, a senior at South East High in South Gate, welcomes the challenge. "I feel I can do anything," he said. "When I'm on the field, I believe I'm untouchable. " As a running back, receiver, kickoff returner and punt returner, the versatile Lewis is ready to take over for Crenshaw's De'Anthony Thomas as the most dangerous offensive threat in the City Section this fall.

It's a new era in City Section football, a changing of the guard and perhaps a changing of tactics. The days of domination by quick, big-play running backs such as De'Anthony Thomas of Crenshaw and Milton Knox of Lake Balboa Birmingham could be ending, with a new emphasis on spread offenses that rely on athletic, versatile, strong-armed quarterbacks. The face of the future is Troy Williams, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior at Harbor City Narbonne (10-3), which plays Carson (8-5)

In an era when families are torn over what schools to attend and what sacrifices are needed to succeed academically and athletically, the Hilinski brothers have embraced their life of long-distance traffic-congested car pools and early morning wake-up alarms. It started two years ago when Kelly Hilinski was a tall, gangly eighth-grade quarterback living in Claremont. His parents, Mark and Kym, went to great lengths to research what high school he should attend, because his younger brothers would one day follow.

At 6 feet 4, 250 pounds, with 4.7 40-yard speed and a relentless drive to pursue ball carriers, Kylie Fitts of Redlands East Valley appears to be the perfect fit to create havoc on defense. "He's such a beast," Coach Kurt Bruich said. As the stakes get higher, Fitts elevates his own performance. "Going out there, with all the fans and all the pressure, I just love the whole atmosphere," he said. The Wildcats are 10-0 and seeded No. 3 in the Inland Division playoffs.

It's a new era in City Section football, a changing of the guard and perhaps a changing of tactics. The days of domination by quick, big-play running backs such as De'Anthony Thomas of Crenshaw and Milton Knox of Lake Balboa Birmingham could be ending, with a new emphasis on spread offenses that rely on athletic, versatile, strong-armed quarterbacks. The face of the future is Troy Williams, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior at Harbor City Narbonne (10-3), which plays Carson (8-5)

I am a Santiago High School songleader. I was very hurt by your so-called column about our school. You make us out to be a school with no spirit, awful cheerleaders and no athletes. Well, we are here for a reason . . . to graduate. But these extracurricular activities are our way of being united as a school. This is to bring our school together and have some good, clean fun. We try our hardest and that is all you or anyone else can ask. So, if you had a point it was a pretty awful way of stating it, and if you thought it would be fun to pick on our school, think again.

Does it matter that 40 of the estimated 25,000 mentally ill homeless people in Los Angeles County are living safe and independent lives now, thanks to an innovative program? The numbers of people involved are hardly impressive. But something is brewing here that could eventually put a much bigger dent in the problem. A Community of Friends, profiled in Making a Difference, is expert in finding housing sites, remodeling, cutting through red tape and managing property.

He lives in a land of ancient castles and age-old traditions, where the appetite for modern Western culture pervades everything but the past. Century old wineries, hand-painted pottery, the annual autumn goose feast . . . This is, in part, what makes Pezinok, Slovakia, special. But resident Jan Boris is interested in something else entirely. He calls it "World famous American high school basketball." His No. 1 favorite team? The Ocean View High Seahawks.

At 6 feet 4, 250 pounds, with 4.7 40-yard speed and a relentless drive to pursue ball carriers, Kylie Fitts of Redlands East Valley appears to be the perfect fit to create havoc on defense. "He's such a beast," Coach Kurt Bruich said. As the stakes get higher, Fitts elevates his own performance. "Going out there, with all the fans and all the pressure, I just love the whole atmosphere," he said. The Wildcats are 10-0 and seeded No. 3 in the Inland Division playoffs.

In an era when families are torn over what schools to attend and what sacrifices are needed to succeed academically and athletically, the Hilinski brothers have embraced their life of long-distance traffic-congested car pools and early morning wake-up alarms. It started two years ago when Kelly Hilinski was a tall, gangly eighth-grade quarterback living in Claremont. His parents, Mark and Kym, went to great lengths to research what high school he should attend, because his younger brothers would one day follow.

Football isn't the easiest sport to play for a teenager who weighs 155 pounds and is being chased by 250-pounders while running through holes created by 300-pounders. Robert Lewis, a senior at South East High in South Gate, welcomes the challenge. "I feel I can do anything," he said. "When I'm on the field, I believe I'm untouchable. " As a running back, receiver, kickoff returner and punt returner, the versatile Lewis is ready to take over for Crenshaw's De'Anthony Thomas as the most dangerous offensive threat in the City Section this fall.

The article by Chris Dufresne entitled "High School Football: Good Even When Bad" (Sept. 21) apparently was intended to extol the virtues of high school football. What it actually did was belittle the efforts of some fine young athletes and criticize almost everyone connected with the game. Dufresne may be a sensitive and perceptive individual but neither attribute was reflected in his article. Perhaps we shouldn't tell him that his comment "this would be the lousiest game Orange County football had to offer on a Friday night" just might be offensive to parents, students and teachers of the schools involved.

It has been three years since this column made its debut. Despite initial concerns, I've been able to teach school and still deal with the reality of newspaper deadlines. Once that issue was settled, a more pressing question arose: Would anybody be interested in what I had to say? After all, I'm not a professor, administrator, consultant or school board member. My perspective is based solely on time spent in the classroom.