Wasco boys forfeit berth in Div. IV soccer final
| Thursday, Feb 25 2010 11:07 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Feb 25 2010 11:19 PM
The allegations that several of Mira Monte's boys soccer players and coach illegally participated in a club tournament during the high school season are true, Wasco's athletic director said, and they include a Wasco player who admitted everything.
And Raul Rangel, isn't pulling any punches in his reaction, either to his own school or to the Mira Monte coach.
Rangel said Wasco has forfeited its chance at a Division IV Central Section championship to Shafter. The rivals were set to play a championship game tonight in front of a big crowd that could have resulted in top seed Wasco's first section title -- in any team sport -- since the early 1990s.
"We had barbecues planned, a rally," Rangel said. "It would have been an unbelievable crowd, and all for nothing."
Instead, Rangel said he wanted to take the high road. After the unnamed player's confession, Rangel called Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow and said top seed Wasco would forfeit its first two playoff games, both played with the ineligible player, and bow out of the tournament. No. 2 seed Shafter officially becomes the Division IV champion.
Rangel said the Wasco player was asked to go to the Las Vegas club tournament two weekends ago by Mira Monte coach Ricardo Gutierrez, who promised him exposure in front of dozens of scouts and the chance for invites to soccer camps or the eventual offer of college scholarships.
But playing in a club tournament during the high school season is in violation of Central Section bylaw No. 600, and the punishment is forfeiture of any games in which the violating players participated."
"We have a maverick, outlaw coach who's taking these kids to tournaments," Rangel said. "... We told our kid, 'You know better than that. We had you sign a contract at the beginning of the year that said you wouldn't play club.' But he said, 'They told me that this is big for scouts, that we've got to play better to earn points (in a club ranking system).'"
Rangel had more to say.
"(Gutierrez) had no regard for what the repercussions could be. We need some teeth in that rule. Someone like that should get ... fired and be prosecuted."
Later Thursday, Gutierrez admitted that several of his own players also participated in the tournament. He said he was frustrated because he felt schools like Mira Monte and Wasco were being targeted while other violations of bylaw No. 600 went unnoticed.
"The rule is being enforced when it's convenient; that's the problem," Gutierrez said. "These kids don't have parents that are going to e-mail CIF. They all know the consequences, but if you had a son and he played for my club team, and the University of Harvard or Connecticut or Brown contacted us because they wanted to see him, you want to tell me your kid can't go to this tournament because you've got the Valley quarterfinals next week?"
Rangel also said the blame shouldn't fall on Wasco's offending player.
"The kid is going to be under a lot of scrutiny," he said. "But he came clean; he's young and ambitious, and he made a mistake."
Gutierrez said he's not alone. He said he counted 41 California teams registered in high school-aged divisions at the tournament in Nevada, which took place during the season in Southern California high school soccer. Northern California plays its boys soccer in the fall.
"It's a (terrible) rule," Gutierrez said. "Go back and look. There really are a lot of California teams. ... We're going to pick on the little Mexican school in Wasco. That's cool. And Mira Monte. But all of the schools have done the same thing. And the one kid that goes out admitted it, the one kid that's honest, his school has to forfeit."
Golden Valley coach Troy Lynch, whose team beat Mira Monte 2-1 on Wednesday in a Division III semifinal that originally was postponed because of this matter, disagreed with Gutierrez's assessment, saying that most California teams in Las Vegas were either Northern Cal teams and out of season, or academy-based players who don't represent a high school.
"In the past there have been players that have been caught playing (for club teams), but to the best of my knowledge, this doesn't happen on a regular basis in our section at all," Lynch said. "It's too small of a town, and people know each other. They'll get caught."
Or, in Wasco's case, they'll catch themselves. When Rangel called Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow to announce the forfeit, Crichlow initally asked him if he wanted to play the game and then do an investigation afterward.
"But before I could even finish thinking, (Rangel) said, 'No, that's not right,'" Crichlow said. "And he's correct. Had we found out (today), we might have gone ahead and played, because people would have made plans.
"... But I really applaud him for being up front."
As for Mira Monte, Crichlow said he contacted the school Thursday asking to meet with Gutierrez and school administration Monday. He didn't get an immediate response, but he said he still plans on that meeting.
"I'll be there Monday, and the plan is for them to be there," said Crichlow, who said the bylaw calls for each offending player to be suspended for double the number of club games he played in, and that additional punishments also will be considered.
Perhaps none likely will be as painful as the one Wasco administered on itself.
"We have a tremendous soccer team, one of the top teams in the Valley," Rangel said. "And then to be able to play our dear friends from the south, Shafter, what a matchup.
"... It's a big, huge blow. It's horrible. It's like somebody died."
