Thursday, February 16, 2012
Santa Margarita football coach says he wants to 'do the right thing,' but says little else as he looks to move past recent events.
It's not very often that Harry Welch doesn't have something to say, but when the popular, successful and outgoing Santa Margarita Catholic football coach was reached Thursday night, he was a decidedly reserved man. Welch was reinstated this week as the coach at the school after having been placed on paid administrative leave Jan. 20. He had been investigated by the Orange County Sheriff's Department for an incident in which he allegedly shoved, or pushed, a player on Dec. 13, between his team winning the Southern Section Pac-5 and CIF State Bowl championships. Although cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the Orange County District Attorney on Jan. 26, the school did not clear the way for his return until Wednesday, when school President…
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The successful football coach had been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 20. Conditions of his return were not released.
Harry Welch, the Santa Margarita Catholic football coach who has been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 20, was reinstated by the school on Wednesday. A letter from school President Paul Carey and Principal Ray Dunne explained Welch's return to parents. Welch was investigated by the Orange County Sheriff Department for an incident on Dec. 13 in which he allegedly pushed or shoved a player, but the Orange County District Attorney declined to press charges against the coach, whose team won a Southern Section Pac-5 and CIF State Bowl Championship in only his second season at the helm. The program is 22-5 under him after going 6-14 in two seasons prior to his arrival. Here is the contents of the letter to parents from Carey and Dunne: As…
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Kevin Orton, 48, was parked in a limo in the middle of the street when deputies offered to help. Instead, they added more angst to a football program that has been marred since winning a championship.
The star-crossed off-season of Santa Margarita Catholic's football program took another wild turn over the weekend when an assistant junior varsity coach was charged with possession and being under the influence of narcotics. He was fired by the school on Wednesday. Kevin Lawrence Orton, 48, was wearing his Santa Margarita football polo shirt Saturday when deputies noticed his 2006 Cadillac limousine stopped in the road. The limo, in the No. 2 lane on Rancho Viejo Road near Trabuco Creek Road in San Juan Capistrano, didn't have its flashers on. Deputies approached to assist the apparently disabled vehicle, but according to Orange County Sheriff spokesman Jim Amormino, noticed a white powdery substance in a coffee cup on the console, a $20…
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Santa Margarita Catholic's principal and president send a letter to parents indicating that even though Coach Harry Welch is cleared of criminal wrongdoing, they're not ready to invite him back until they're satisfied with their investigation.
Even though football coach Harry Welch has been cleared by the Orange County District Attorney's office for his role in an incident at Santa Margarita Catholic High, the school isn't ready to reinstate him from the paid administrative leave he has been on since Jan. 20. That was spelled out in an email to parents on Saturday from President Paul Carey and Principal Ray Dunne. The extremely successful football coach who guided Santa Margarita to Southern Section Pac-5 and State Bowl Championships was involved in a Dec. 13 incident in which there was a claim he "pushed or shoved" a student-athlete, according to police. The tip came in an anonymous e-mail; the student nor his family refused to file charges against the coach. Orange County …
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Harry Welch, the football coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High, has been placed on leave while the Orange County Sheriff investigates an alleged assault.
There's not a lot that Harry Welch hasn't seen in four decades of coaching football, and now he's even been the subject of a police investigation. Welch has been placed on paid administrative leave by Santa Margarita Catholic High and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange for his involvement in an alleged incident that took place the week of the team's State Bowl championship. According to Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff, the school received an anonymous third-party tip via e-mail that a coach at the school "pushed or shoved a student-athlete," which could be grounds for assault. "The victim did not file a complaint," Amormino said. "We're trying to ascertain if there were enough elements that a crime took place. We're…
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ceremony comes during a busy week for the football team that won Pac-5 and State Bowl championships.
A run through the playoffs that involved fantastic finishes and heavy competition helped propel Santa Margarita Catholic to a very high national rnaking by the high school sports website Maxpreps.com. In partnership with the Army National Guard, Maxpreps named the Eagles the No. 10 team in the nation at a rally that showed highlights of their 42-37 victory over San Jose Bellarmine, as well as other key plays against Long Beach Poly, Mission Viejo and San Clemente. Santa Margarita (13-2)lost to Servite, 43-42, in overtime in the Trinity League finale and finished second to the Friars for the title. But while Servite got tripped up in the second round by Tesoro, Santa Margarita played five playoff games—as many as they played in league—and …
Championship-winning Santa Margarita football team honored for 'thrilling conclusion to an historic season.'
No one could ever remember more people crowded in front of the dais inside the council chambers at City Hall, which just meant the Santa Margarita Catholic football team continued to break new ground. The Eagles, who Mayor Tony Beall said provided a 'thrilling conclusion to an historic season,' were honored Wednesday for winning the Southern Section Pac-5 championship and the State Division I Bowl. Coach Harry Welch and school president Paul Carey spoke, as did each of the attending council members—most notably Jerry Holloway, who is dean of discipline at the school and a freshman football coach. "The pride we have for what you guys have done and what you've done for yourselves in this community, words won't express it," Holloway said. "…
Monday, December 19, 2011
Santa Margarita wins a State Bowl Championship against long odds, trailing by nine points in the fourth quarter. Here's a look at some of the plays that will never be forgotten.
Santa Margarita's victory Saturday over San Jose Bellarmine Prep gave the Eagles the State Division I Bowl Championship. Amid chants of "We believe" and "Johnny Stanton," the Eagles scored 21 points -- half of their total in a 42-37 victory -- in the fourth quarter. Here's a short film by Brandon Petersen looking at the Eagles' fourth quarter and the winning drive that students, and many in the community, will never forget.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Junior quarterback runs and passes the Eagles on a last-minute drive, scoring on fourth-and-goal from the one, to beat Bellarmine of San Jose Friday at Home Depot Center in Carson.
Junior quarterback Johnny Stanton drove his team 80 yards with less than two minutes to play and scored on a fourth-and-one plunge with 16 seconds left to give Santa Margarita a 42-37 victory over Bellarmine of San Jose in the CIF State Division I Bowl Championship football game Friday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson. It was a defining moment for the Eagles. They could have had John McGrory kick an 18-yard field goal. Instead, Coach Harry Welch put the game in the hands of Stanton and his offensive line. "I felt awfully strongly about Max Tuerk and Johnny Stanton," Welch said of his USC-bound lineman and junior QB. "Since they had brought us here, I believed that would be a good way to win. And, if we lost with John Stanton and …
With Santa Margarita's 42-37 victory, Harry Welch joins a rare group of coaches who can be called legends.
There is something special about him. He called himself a gambler Friday night after his team won the State Division I Bowl championship, coming back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He gambled with less than two minutes remaining when he told his defense to let the other team score so that the Eagles could get the ball back with enough time to win the game. Then he gambled on fourth and one, with 16 seconds left, and bet on his offensive line and his quarterback. Harry Welch knows the game, and he knows players. And, apparently, he knows the odds. He called the leader of his offensive line, Max Tuerk, and the leader of his team, Johnny Stanton, a couple of thoroughbreds. So he put his confidence and the ball in their hands…
Teri Hansen
3:36 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
What about looking into the alleged "donation" of $200,000 to the diocese and another $200,000 to SMCHS to keep Welch? Looks like money talks. more ›