By SPIDERMAN Daily Planet Staff Writer
SAMOHI It had to happen sooner or later.
The St. Monica football team ended a dubious losing streak Monday, one that spanned every sport and stretched back to April of 1899, the year the private, Catholic school was founded.
The victory came on a technicality in what could only be termed a miracle, or a significant lapse in judgment on behalf of coaches at Culver City High School, who allowed a 21-year-old dropout with no years of eligibility remaining to join their varsity squad and play right tackle for the Centaurs.
California Scholastic Federation officials discovered the illegal use of a player Monday and issued a letter to all schools in the Southern Section Division, informing them that Culver City has been disqualified retroactively, meaning all teams who played against the Centaur’s last season can put a notch in the win column.
“We knew this could happen if we just took it one game at a time,” Mariners Quarterback Jimmy Otis said following the game. “Coach kept saying that if we gave it 110 percent we would eventually come up winners.”
The last win for the St. Monica athletic program came April 1, 1899, when the boys’ polo team eked by a Venice High School team that went on to capture the state title that year. Since then, the combined record for each and every one of the school’s teams was 0-1,360.At one point, the school’s athletic director considered abandoning sports all together, but decided that students had the right to be competitive regardless of the outcome.
“We came really close to closing up shop,” said Steve Buell, the school’s athletic director, who celebrated his 150th birthday last week. “But this victory makes it all worth it. The kids just took it one play at a time and stuck to the game plan. I’m really proud of these kids.”
In an effort to go green, St. Monica officials have decided to replace all polyester uniforms with those made from organically grown cotton.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2008. Read the original PDF.