GAME CANCELLED
Football postponed due to fires
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 26, 2007 – All football games, as well as all extracurricular activities, scheduled this week in Orange County have been canceled because of the poor air quality that has resulted from the Santiago Canyon wildfire, according to Bill Habermehl, the Orange County superintendent of schools, after a conference call with 15 school district superintendents and their representatives this morning.
“It was a very difficult decision for the superintendents because they realize all the planing that goes into athletic events,” Habermehl said. “But the decision was made for the health and welfare of the students and [we] decided to do it county-wide so we wouldn’t have one school [competing and another not competing]. They decided to stand tall. We realize the ripple effects and implications are tremendous.”
Habermehl did the same thing after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks so that everyone could be on the same page, information-wise. Some districts had intended to play that weekend, while others had not. He said they agreed to cancel activities county-wide then as well.
“You make better decisions collectively than you do in isolation,” Habermehl told The Times on Wednesday. “I hope we have an onshore breeze and clear skies, but if we don’t, the superintendents need to know where everybody else is.”
Whether the games will be rescheduled remains to be determined.
All games in the parochial Trinity League have also been canceled and it doesn’t look as if they will be rescheduled, according to Santa Margarita Coach Mike Jacot.
Anaheim Servite was scheduled to host San Juan Capistrano Serra at Cal State Fullerton on Friday, while Santa Margarita was scheduled to host Orange Lutheran at Saddleback Collge and Santa Ana Mater Dei was at Bellflower St. John Bosco.
Times reporters Eric Sondheimer, Dan Arritt, Jaime Cardenas, Martin Henderson, Lauren Peterson and Mike Terry, as well as contributors Eric Maddy and Austin Knoblauch contributed to this report.
By The Times Staff
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Los Angeles Times
