THE PREPS / ERIC SHEPARD : Thousands Won’t Get to See Big Games

The toughest ticket in town this weekend may be for a couple of high school football showdowns. In both cases, however, limited seating problems could have been avoided by moving the games to bigger stadiums.

The games involve Los Alamitos, ranked No. 7 in the Southland by The Times, against No. 1 Anaheim Esperanza, and No. 8 Fontana against No. 4 Rialto Eisenhower. Starting time for each is 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The teams have a combined record of 26-1-1 and league titles will be at stake.

The Los Alamitos-Esperanza game may have the most interest. Each team is 7-0. But rather than move the game to nearby Cal State Fullerton, which holds 10,000, Esperanza officials decided to keep it at Placentia Valencia High, where the team normally plays its home games. Valencia holds about 6,000.

Jim Patterson, Esperanza’s athletic director, said moving the game would have cost his school money.

“Renting Cal State Fullerton would cost us $2,500,” he said. “And we would lose another $5,000 to $6,000 in concessions. We’re excited about playing this game at home in front of a standing-room only crowd.”

Patterson said tickets are available at both schools this week and will also be available at the game. He added that fans will be allowed to stand on the track and behind the end zones.

Fontana officials hoped to move their game with Eisenhower to Cal State Fullerton Thursday. Fullerton denied that request, though, citing potential parking problems with students who attend night classes. No other large stadium was available, so the game stayed at Fontana.

Terry O’Keefe, Fontana’s athletic director, said the same matchup drew 12,000 two years ago. When Eisenhower pulled an upset, its fans stormed the field and tore down a goal post. Friday’s game will be limited to 5,800, and O’Keefe expects the game to be sold out by the middle of this week.

“To maintain safety, we’re not going to let people stand all over the field and squeeze in the bleachers,” he said. “We want to have order.”

The game will be available on pay-per-view TV in Fontana for $4.

In these tough economic times, it is understandable that home schools want to cash in on big-revenue games. But it is too bad for the fans who will be turned away.

A seating shortage will probably be a problem again next Saturday when No. 2 Bishop Amat plays at No. 3 Loyola.

Loyola uses Glendale High for its home games, and the stadium there has a capacity of 9,000. The parochial school battle between the Southern Section’s top Division I teams probably could draw 15,000.

“No one has approached me yet about moving the game,” said Jon Dawson, Loyola’s athletic director. “But it doesn’t make any difference because we wouldn’t consider moving it. There aren’t any bigger facilities nearby. Moving it would probably mean being closer to Bishop Amat.”

Each team is 7-0 and they share first place in the Del Rey League.

A Desert Valleys League game between Indio and Brawley was canceled because of fear of violence last Friday and officials at both schools are unsure which team, if either, should be credited with a victory.

The teams were to have played at Brawley, a town of 18,000 in Imperial Valley, but residents were still upset about the shooting of Arturo Roman Ortiz on Oct. 16. Ortiz, 17, was fatally shot by a police officer after fleeing his car during a routine traffic stop. There were protests about the incident all week and a march on the football game was planned.

Brawley officials asked Indio to reschedule the game for Saturday afternoon. Rudy Ramirez, Indio’s principal, refused.

“We felt that if the environment was not safe Friday night, then it probably wouldn’t be safe Saturday afternoon,” said Paul Thompson, Indio’s athletic director. “We asked them if they wanted to play the game at our place and we would give them the home game next year. They didn’t want to do that. So, we’ll see what happens. It’s unfortunate.”

A committee of league officials will meet later this week to decide the issue.

For those wondering if two-sport standout Stais Boseman of Inglewood Morningside is going to play football or basketball in college, it appears that basketball will take precedence.

Boseman said Sunday that he will sign a national letter of intent in two weeks with the USC basketball team.

Boseman said he also plans to play football at USC but that he will redshirt his freshman year of football to concentrate on his studies. The scholarship is contingent on his scoring at least 700 points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which he took on Oct. 17.

Boseman, regarded as the top all-round athlete in the state, was voted to the All-Southern Section team in football and basketball.

He chose USC over Connecticut, Arizona, Washington State and Michigan.

Prep Notes

Alta Loma of the Mt. Baldy League had to forfeit five victories for not filing the proper paperwork with the Southern Section on a transfer player. The Braves went from 5-1 to 0-6. . . . Quarterback Tim Carey of Los Alamitos warmed up for Esperanza by completing 16 of 26 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-0 victory over Placentia El Dorado. The game was played in a driving rainstorm. For the season, Carey has completed 109 of 166 passes for 1,769 yards, 18 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Another top game Friday is a Division III battle, No. 14 Baldwin Park at No. 10 Nogales. Each is 7-0. Baldwin Park defeated Nogales in last season’s Division IV championship game, 28-7. . . . Los Angeles University scored its first points of the season last Friday in a 7-6 defeat by Manual Arts. The Warriors (0-7) have been outscored 122-6, and were the only team in the Southland that had not scored. . . . To show unity, Crescenta Valley players shaved their heads last week. Then they improved their record to 7-0 with a 24-17 victory over Glendale. The Falcons will see if the haircuts help when they play No. 5 Pasadena Muir on Friday at Pasadena City College.

Times’ Top 20 Football Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school football poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Esperanza SS II 7-0 1 2. Bishop Amat SS I 7-0 2 3. Loyola SS I 7-0 3 4. Eisenhower SS I 6-0-1 4 5. Muir SS II 6-1 5 6. Hart SS II 7-0 6 7. Los Alamitos SS II 7-0 7 8. Fontana SS I 6-1 8 9. Servite SS II 6-0-1 9 10. Nogales SS III 7-0 10 11. Ran. Alamitos SS VII 6-1 11 12. Mater Dei SS I 6-0-1 12 13. Hawthorne SS III 6-1 14 14. Baldwin Park SS III 7-0 15 15. Irvine SS IV 6-1 19 16. Santa Barbara SS III 7-0 NR 17. N. Torrance SS IX 7-0 17 18. Sylmar City 4-A 6-0 18 19. Redlands SS I 5-2 16 20. Carson City 4-A 4-2-1 20