MONARCHS CANCEL SEASON

The entire Mark Morris High School varsity and junior varsity baseball
season was canceled Wednesday after none of the players involved in last
month's drugs-and-alcohol party in a Yakima hotel room came forward to
confess their roles.

Mark Morris administrators set a 9 a.m. Wednesday deadline for players to
admit wrongdoing and save the remaining 10 games on the team's schedule,
sources close to the school's athletic program said.

"No one wanted to snitch on anyone," one source told The Daily News. "They
were told that if they didn't say anything, nothing would happen. Well,
that wasn't the case."

Mark Morris athletic director Robert Blackman said Wednesday that he first
learned of the Yakima incident "from a coach."

"It's a very unfortunate situation. It wasn't the entire team," Blackman
said. "We needed to make a decision by 9 a.m. (Wednesday). At that time, we
felt we needed to cancel the remainder of the JV and varsity season."

Blackman informed Greater St. Helens 3A League president Ted Buck, the AD
at Camas High School, of the decision Wednesday morning.

"I was told there would no longer be a junior varsity and varsity baseball
season at Mark Morris," Buck said. "In my 12 years as an educator, I have
never seen anything like this. ... It's very unfortunate. It's sad."

Buck and Blackman will confer with the athletic directors at Kelso, R.A.
Long, Washougal and Columbia River to decide whether the Monarchs' 10 GSHL
games will count as forfeit victories for the rest of the league.

As many as 10 of the 15 varsity players were involved in the party, one
source said, whether it was "actually drinking or smoking pot, or just
helping get rid of the evidence."

One player, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "about six players
were doing the partying," but administrators "would have treated everyone
the same, even if you just handled a beer bottle."

"I think it was good that they gave us a chance to come forward, but I
don't think it was fair to punish everyone the same," he added. "I feel bad
for the people who weren't involved, because their whole baseball season is
finished. But I think it was fear that stopped guys from coming forward.
Either they didn't want their parents to know or they didn't want it on
their record. Some guys maybe were too worried about their reputations."

Sources said the players were "caught red-handed" by one of the coaches,
but that nothing was reported to administrators when the team returned home
from its three-game series in the Yakima area March 21-22. It wasn't until
another coach came forward that the investigation began.

A group of players were identified by administrators for possible
infractions of the Longview School District's athletic-code policy for
participating in the party, and their parents notified, shortly after the trip.

During the impending investigation by Blackman and Mark Morris principal
Chris Fritsch, varsity head coach Ron Philpott and varsity assistant Kevin
Krauser resigned. No replacements were named.

Philpott, who said he resigned to spend more time with his family, was
disappointed with the administration's decision to wipe out the season.

"I'm saddened for the players," Philpott said. "Whose best interest is Mark
Morris High School serving? I'm not trying to bad-mouth Fritsch or
Blackman. They have a job to do. But the level of mistrust that has grown
during this situation, and the lack of sincerity, is disturbing. The whole
thing has been blown completely out of proportion."

Blackman said the administration held an open-forum meeting Tuesday night,
"and we talked about it there" with parents in attendance.

Mike Randall, whose son Andy, a senior, won't play another game in a
Monarchs uniform, said the administration should have disciplined the
players it knew were involved in the party instead of pulling the plug on
the entire season.

"They interviewed specific kids and called their parents," said Randall,
who did not receive a phone call from the school. "Either they had proof on
kids or they didn't. I'm not sure why they wanted kids to come forward.
Just punish the ones involved, don't cancel it for everyone."

Blackman refused to discuss why the administration didn't discipline
specific players.

Randall said his son "didn't want to be a snitch."

"It wasn't a good position they put my son in," Randall said. "Now he
doesn't have a chance to play high school ball again. It's all over for him."