A year ago at this time, Serra High was on top of the Central Coast Section football world, having won the section's Open title.
Now, after forfeiting a consolation bracket game to Milpitas in the 2014 playoffs, the Catholic high school finds itself in an entirely different place following Wednesday's lengthy CCS Board of Managers meeting.
The section voted by a 38-6-3 margin to change Serra's school's status from "member in good standing" to probationary membership after it forfeited to Milpitas the day of the game after citing safety reasons because of a depleted roster. The Padres had played and won an earlier consolation game against Palma, 28-14.
"The circumstances of the consolation bracket led specifically to the situation we were in," Walsh said after the meeting. "If we had advanced through the playoffs the traditional way teams advance through the playoffs ... we would have lost to Los Gatos and our season would have been over. We would have cried and we would have moved on. Traditionally that's what has happened in this section and in high school sports and everything I've been associated with in the history of football."
Walsh had been against the consolation bracket all along and obviously his mind had not changed leading up to his decision to forfeit against Milpitas after he said five seniors dropped off the team the day before the scheduled Milpitas game, further thinning out his squad after Serra gave seniors the option of not playing.
"There were only three (consolation) games played at this point," Walsh said. "Two were played with modifications. The other was played with such bad sportsmanship that they couldn't even shake hands after the game. This is championship caliber football? I don't believe so. That's not what we were doing in the playoffs. The fourth game was forfeited."
Asked if was surprised at the landslide nature of the vote, Walsh said: " We didn't come in here anticipating anything because the very nature of it -- this is the first time this has ever happened. Given the fact consolation football will never happen again in this area, it's probably the last (time it will happen)."
After the forfeit, commissioner Nancy Lazenby Blaser hit Serra with an array of sanctions -- a two-year ban from participating in the football playoffs, restitution for monies lost by Milpitas and others, a three-year probation for the football program and -- as an added punishment -- probation for the entire athletic program for the remainder of this school year and all of next school year.
What probation amounts to is if Serra breaks the rules again it could face worse sanctions including expulsion.
What Serra appealed Wednesday and what was voted upon was Serra's membership status as an athletic department, and it didn't go well for the Padres.
Following a presentation by Lazenby Blaser, Serra principal Barry Thornton was allowed to speak, followed by Walsh, who said that, given the state his roster was in due to defections and injuries, he thought it was "unsafe" to take the field against Milpitas, leading to his carefully weighed decision. The veteran coach, who has led Serra to five WCAL co-titles and two section titles since 2001, had the backing of his athletic director and administration.
But not many at the meeting sided with Walsh.
Most outspoken was Santa Clara Valley Athletic League commissioner Tony Nunes who asked Walsh "If you had been in the winners' bracket with all these injuries, would you have continued to play?"
When Walsh did not answer the question with a yes or no, Nunes said: "You would have forfeited in the winners' bracket?"
"If my team looking like that team at that point -- that was not a varsity football team," Walsh said.
Said Nunes: "Answer my question please."
"No, I would not have played the game," Walsh said
"I beg to differ with you," Nunes added.
Several others at the meeting spoke out against Serra's actions, though none as strongly as Nunes.
One who thought Serra being put on probation was over the top was St. Francis CCC principal Pat Lee.
Lee said after the meeting he thought most of the sanctions against Serra were warranted, but not the probationary status.
"They (the sanctions) were a little bit more than what the commissioner originally proposed," he said. "Serra seemed to fall on their sword. I just thought the next layer (probation) was a little more than what was necessary."
Woodside High principal Diane Burbank disagreed.
"As Nancy stated in their findings, they knowingly violated rules," Burbank said. "As other people said in the meeting, if we have people routinely doing that, we'll have chaos. So while I respect their decision not to play, there still has to be sanctions. When you're civilly disobedient, sometime there are sanctions."
As for the other sanctions, Serra will be appealing those at a later date, Walsh said.
