School’s Closing Leaves Players Scrambling

The announcement that Southern California Christian is closing has left players on the school’s eight-man football team scrambling to find new schools to compete for.

The nondenominational school in Orange announced Friday it is closing due to lack of enrollment. Only 59 students had enrolled, and at least 90 were needed to keep the self-supporting school open, Principal Tom Trueblood said.

Last season, injuries forced the Flames to cut back to an eight-man program when they were unable to field an 11-man team. Coach Alan Degenhardt, who was to begin his third year at the school, said the team planned to play eight-man again this season, when it was to join the Express League.