North, West Valley Panel Pushing for Realignment

A committee of athletic administrators will present a proposal to the City Section this month which, if approved, will realign football teams within the Northwest Valley Conference next season.

If the restructuring proposal is passed, San Fernando and Kennedy will remain in the North Valley League and will be joined by Reseda and Cleveland.

Granada Hills, which has won or shared four consecutive league titles in two leagues, will move to the West Valley League. Taft, El Camino Real and Chatsworth will round out the West Valley. Chatsworth played in the North Valley last season.

“We want to spread the teams as equally as possible,” said Bob Kindseth, Cleveland’s administrator in charge of athletics.

The current conference alignment for basketball will not be affected, Kindseth said. The committee was unable to reach a decision on baseball and again will convene, Kindseth said.

Meanwhile, a playoff-grouping committee for the Southern Section denied an appeal by the Golden League to prevent a move from Division II to Division I in football, as recommended by the section.

The committee, however, upheld an appeal by the newly aligned San Fernando League to prevent being placed in Division VIII in football.

The San Fernando League--consisting of Bell-Jeff, El Segundo, Harvard, St. Francis and St. Genevieve--will be placed in Division VII pending final approval by the section’s general council on April 26, according to administrator Dean Crowley.

“They will be moving from Division VIII to Division VII,” Crowley said. “A decision at this time has not been made as to (which league) will move from Division VII to Division VIII.”

The Golden League can make a final appeal at the meeting of the general council, Crowley said. But league officials said another appeal is unlikely.

The Golden League had voted 4 to 2 to appeal the section’s recommendations for playoff groupings.

The Southern Section recommended the Golden League’s move based on enrollment and the league’s playoff success the past two seasons. The league has placed four teams in the Division II semifinals the past two years.

The San Fernando League also succeeded in appealing a move in boys’ soccer from 3-A to 2-A.

Staff writer Vince Kowalick contributed to this story.