Montclair Prep Continues to Fight for Entry Into Football Playoffs

Montclair Prep will continue its battle to gain eligibility for the Southern Section Division X football playoffs by meeting with Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas on Thursday, Montclair Prep’s legal counsel said Tuesday.

Dan Grigsby, attorney for Montclair Prep, said that the meeting will be held in an attempt to overturn a Southern Section ruling that bans all of Montclair Prep’s athletic teams from participating in the Southern Section playoffs for the 1991-92 school year.

Grigsby said that an attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order in Van Nuys Superior Court was denied Friday, and that Montclair Prep’s next step will be to try for a preliminary injunction in court on Nov. 21, the day before the playoffs are scheduled to begin.

But Grigsby said he hoped a face-to-face meeting with Thomas would preclude that next step.

“We’ll be meeting (Thursday) to see if we can’t reach some sort of agreement that works for both parties,” Grigsby said. “We’re looking for something that will get the sanctions reduced against Montclair Prep.”

Thomas was unavailable for comment.

A Southern Section investigation in the spring found the school guilty of recruiting violations. Montclair Prep Principal Vernon E. (Doc) Simpson signed an agreement with the Southern Section that banned the football team from playoff eligibility for two years and the entire school’s athletic program from playoff eligibility for one year.

Simpson has since said that he felt he “had a gun to his head” when he signed the agreement, and questions its validity.

The Southern Section playoff pairings are scheduled to be made Sunday, but Grigsby said that he has asked the Southern Section not to exclude Montclair Prep “until we’ve been heard.”

The Mountie football team has clinched the Alpha League championship and is 7-1 overall heading into Saturday night’s game against Marshall Fundamental.