2013 Sports Archive Stories

ANAHEIM - In summer of 1990, A.J. Gass was faced with a major dilemma. A soon-to-be sophomore at Servite High, Gass was in a heated competition for a starting spot on the football team. But a miscommunication with his ride to campus left the teenager stranded at his Corona home. "I scrounged up all my change, tied my shoes and hi

A quote attributed to Theodore Roosevelt goes, "No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." Bill Boswell cared a great deal about young people he knew and never knew as a coach and athletic director at Westminster High, and as an important leader in the California State Athletic Directors Association. Bosw

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Bill Boswell, former football coach and athletic director at Westminster High, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack. He was 78. The football stadium on the Westminster campus, Bill Boswell Stadium, was named for him in 1998. Boswell was the school's football coach from 1959 to 1977, during which the Lions won

A public memorial service for veteran Orange County sports official Al Hackney is Sunday at 11:30a.m. at Ocean View High's gym. Hackney, 79, died in early April after a fight with cancer. He officiated high school and college sports for 60 years. ... Services for county basketball referee Matt Sanders, who died last

Taking a look around Orange County high school sports: •Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa football coach Paul Cronin, a 2011 state coach of the year, confirmed that the Internet message board chatter is true, that he was offered the Servite football coaching position that went to Servite alum, administrator and assistant football coach

Servite alum A.J. Gass was named the school's varsity football coach Thursday. He replaces Troy Thomas, who resigned last month to return to Crespi of Encino, his alma mater, where he was football coach before taking the Servite job in 2005. Gass, 37, was an All-Orange County and All-CIF defensive back for the Friars in the early

This list contains the names of athletes who signed their letters of intent Wednesday. (Athletes who will be attending Ivy League schools or the service academies sign letters of commitment, and they are included on this list.) (

Elijah Brown has heard it before. He expects to hear it again, that his famous father is a large reason for his opportunities. Brown, a basketball player Mater Dei, signed his letter of intent with Butler University on Wednesday, the first day of the regular signing period for senior athletes in basketball and many other sports.

Click through the slideshow to see photos of Orange County athletes who signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, April 17.

The CIF-Southern Section released its list of the 100 greatest athletes over the weekend to go along with its 100-year anniversary. The list included 20 athletes who participated in a CIF-SS sport for an Orange County high school. The list also represents the the inaugural class for the CIF-SS Hall of Fame. Criteria for selection

Nine Register All-Orange County players are on the South roster for the Brea Lions Orange County North-South All-Star Football Game. Five South players were first-team All-County: Edison offensive lineman Jeremiah Frost; Corona del Mar kicker Griff Amies; Edison defensive lineman Derek Baljeu; Mission Viejo defensive

SANTA ANA – Jonathan Lockett glances at his hands covered with calluses and rubs his arm. Mater Dei's highly recruited cornerback has been training hard in the weight room this offseason, and he has the aches and pains to prove it. But the junior, who has almost 10 scholarship offers, isn't just trying to better hims

Longtime Orange County official Al Hackney, 79, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. Hackney officiated varsity football through this past season, his last of more than 60 years working county athletic events. By his count, he officiated more than 1,000 county football games. He also was a college basketball official, and refe

Four players from Southwest Division semifinalist Foothill are among the North roster selections for the Brea Lions Orange County North-South all-star football game June 28 at Orange Coast College. Foothill will be represented on the 35-man roster by first-team All-County defensive back Jullian Moss (5-foot-8, 165 pounds), his twin broth

Capistrano Valley’s search for a new football head coach included a number of candidates, some from out of state. But in the end, the Cougars did not have to look far to find their man. Ernst Bucher has been coaching football for half his life; now, after 17 years as an assistant or coordinator, he will get his first chance to lead

IRVINE - There were passionate pleas, debate over the need for change and the emergence of an upstart proposal. Orange County's final releaguing meeting for the 2014-2018 cycle produced plenty of intrigue Thursday but not much change. County principals approved a counter-proposal by Brea Olinda that recommends that Yorba Linda mo

As Troy Thomas strode to the front of the stage inside the Servite theater, the school's football players were already gathered, waiting to find out why they had been summoned to this meeting by the school's administration. It only took a few minutes for Thomas to deliver his news: He was leaving the school after an incredible eig

The nominations for the South team for the Brea Lions Orange County North-South all-star football game have been released. The game, for graduating seniors, is June 28 at Orange Coast College. Schools were limited to five nominees. Final rosters will be released in coming weeks. (Related article:

Capistrano Valley has narrowed its search for a new football coach to two candidates, Athletic Director Chad Addison said Friday. After interviewing six candidates on Wednesday, Addison said the panel, which met with the candidates, is doing "last minute homework" on a preferred candidate before meeting again on Monday. He said if the co

Orange County leagues in future years probably will look very much like they do now. Underway is the process to create new league alignments for a period of four school years starting with the 2014-15 school year. Principals from the 73 county high schools in the Orange County Area met Wednesday to review proposals for league configurati

Capistrano Valley is interviewing six candidates for its football head coach position, Athletic Director Chad Addison said Wednesday afternoon. The candidates are being interviewed before a panel that includes Addison, other representatives of the school, members of the football booster club and at least one player. By the end of

The nominees for the North team for the Brea Lions Orange County North-South all-star football game have been released. The North-South roster boundaries, which have been changed this year, now include these schools for the North: Foothill, Tustin, Marina, Westminster, La Quinta, Santa Ana, Santiago, Century, Bolsa Grande, Mater Dei and

Taking a look around Orange County high school sports: •It has been wild week on the coaching front, with two of the county's higher-profile jobs having opened – football at Servite, girls basketball at Brea Olinda. •Ed Drzanek is the first man many people familiar with Servite football thought would be a leading

Servite has set an April 4 deadline for applications and resumes for its varsity football head coaching position, vacated when Troy Thomas resigned Monday to take the football coaching job at Crespi of Encino. Resumes and applications to Servite associate athletic director Joel Hartmann at jhartmann@servitehs.org. Interviews happen April

Troy Thomas resigned as football coach at Servite on Tuesday to become coach at his alma mater, Crespi of Encino. Thomas coached Servite for eight seasons. The Friars were league champions or co-champions in seven of those seasons, and he won CIF-Southern Section championships in 2009 and '10. Servite also won a CIF State title in '09.