5 GAMES NOW FORFEITED

A fifth Mark Morris varsity baseball game has been canceled and the
remainder of the season was still in jeopardy Monday as school
administrators waited for team members who participated in a "drugs and
alcohol party" in Yakima the weekend of March 22-23 to come forward and
confess their roles.

Games scheduled Monday against St. Helens, Ore., and today against Rainier
have been canceled as part of "an ongoing investigation regarding
violations (by members of the MM varsity baseball team) of the (Longview
School District's) code of conduct for extracurricular activities," Mark
Morris athletic director Robert Blackman said.

Head coach Ron Philpott and varsity assistant Kevin Krauser resigned Friday
in the wake of the investigation, three separate sources close to the Mark
Morris athletic program told The Daily News. No players have been suspended.

Blackman confirmed that the violations occurred during the Monarchs'
baseball trip to Yakima, but would not disclose the nature of the
violations or details of the investigation.

Games against Battle Ground, Centralia, W.F. West, St. Helens and Rainier
have now been canceled. The Monarchs are not scheduled to play again until
April 15 when they open the Greater St. Helens 3A League campaign at home
against Columbia River.

According to St. Helens High School athletic director Curt Scholl, Mark
Morris canceled its game against the Lions on Monday because it "did not
have enough JV and varsity players, due to disciplinary reasons."

A secretary at Centralia High School said that Mark Morris contacted the
school and "simply said there would be no baseball" when opting out of a
doubleheader with Centralia and W.F. West at Fort Borst Park last Saturday.

The Mark Morris administration has not contacted District 4 officials,
according to district secretary Rich Frazer.

Philpott resigned five games into his 11th year as head coach, citing a
desire to spend more time with his family. Sources have indicated that
Philpott's resignation was linked to the Yakima incident.

The sources also said that unless guilty parties step forward, the entire
varsity season will be canceled.

According to Ken Boyle, assistant general manager of Red Lion Hotels in
Yakima, 15 rooms were registered to Mark Morris baseball at the Red Lion
Yakima Center Hotel for the night of Friday, March 22.

"We had no problems reported whatsoever," said Boyle, who was on duty at
the Yakima Center Hotel that evening. "We've had a month's worth of teams
staying with us, so we were definitely aware of our guests. There were no
problems. I do recall (Philpott) being very nice and identifying himself as
the coach, and telling us to contact him if there were any problems."

Doyle said the team checked out of the hotel the next day.