Cunningham, Welch return after beating cancer

Mark Cunningham was one of 13 people awarded the CIF Model Coach Award in February for the 2009-10 school year – and the only one from the Southern Section. But the University-Irvine teacher, coach and athletic director was taken away from all of that when he was diagnosed with throat cancer in May.

Cunningham had nine weeks of radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy, and he is by no means out of the woods. He is, however, back on the sidelines with a new outlook after missing the first five games of the season.

"It's the scariest thing a doctor can tell you, you have cancer," said Cunningham, 59, who was not a candidate for the cancer he had. "You're scared, you're upset, you play the 'Why me' game and then you buckle down and say 'What do we need to do?' . . . I have a supportive family and community and rolled with it."

Cunningham returned to school last week and attended his first game of the season on Friday against Irvine, which brought out many well-wishers including former players and retired Irvine coach Terry Henigan. Irvine defeated University, 13-2, but it's just a game. That has never been clearer to the longtime coach who still wants to win, but is no longer going to sweat the small stuff.

He might sweat special teams and turnovers, though: Irvine's Tim Callian kicked 26- and 40-yard field goals, Richard Caceres returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown for Irvine, and University committed five turnovers.

"I never thought I would be the kind of person who would be so grateful just to walk the dog down the street,” Cunningham said. "You take so many things for granted. I don't take these days for granted anymore. It reaffirmed that this is what I love to do. I really missed it, and I'm grateful I have the support from the players, parents and coaches, and I look forward to it.”

On game nights during the season, Cunningham was usually asleep. Even last week he napped during the day. He has spent most of his life trying to do for others. This was the first time, he said, when he had to be selfish and focus solely on himself.

Kevin McCaffrey was the interim coach in Cunningham's absence, and the program has had to deal with losing three starters – a running back who moved, a quarterback who wanted to concentrate on baseball and an offensive lineman who wanted to focus on volleyball.

"I know I'm not going to get worked up about the winning and losing," Cunningham said. "I'm going to concentrate on the here and now. Football season is 10 weeks and then it's gone. I want to enjoy it and I want the players to have fun. It's the experience you have with your friends and coaches and school – that's what's important, that's what I'm trying to get them to understand."

Meanwhile in Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), legendary coach Harry Welch returned just 10 days after undergoing prostate cancer surgery and led the Eagles to a 27-15 victory over Orange Lutheran in the Trinity League opener. Another strong performance from quarterback Adam Young and running back Cory Thomson helped Santa Margarita come from behind to beat Orange Lutheran for the first time in Trinity League play.

Santa Margarita failed to win a league game for the first time in 2009, and then Welch was hired as coach. Welch, who has won eight section titles and two State Bowl championships, has made all the difference in the world for the school that won middle division titles in 1996 and 1997 behind quarterback Carson Palmer. The Eagles' only blemish this year seems to be an aberration in which they committed five turnovers and lost their second game, 32-21, to crosstown rival Tesoro.

In this season of notable victories – Santa Margarita pounded stalwarts such Carson and Los Alamitos – the Eagles won their most emotional game.

Welch has certainly developed a reputation in his four seasons in Orange County (he spent three with St. Margaret's-San Juan Capistrano). The pregame prayer by home team Lutheran included Welch's recovery (a nice touch), and after the game Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau told Welch, 65, he was a stud.

He may well be. Everything seems to be going right for Welch, including a successful surgery. After the game he told his team, "I truly regret the distraction of my illness."

One other thing Welch has done since announcing his affliction in August: He has inspired men to get tested for prostate cancer. That's another win for the coach.

CHAPARRAL'S SLIDE
Chaparral could have made its difficult nonleague schedule look like genius if it had won its Southwestern League game over the weekend against Vista Murrieta, but alas, the Pumas fell further behind the 8-ball. Chaparral, which defeated Vista Murrieta in last year's Inland Division championship, still has a ways to go if it hopes to repeat after its 45-17 loss despite Darius Guillory's 18 carries for 121 yards and Matt Morin's 237 yards passing.

The difficult schedule – which included defending state bowl champions Servite (Anaheim) and Oceanside and Inland power Centennial (Corona) – was supposed to harden the Pumas for a league and playoff run. It still may work. But right now, the team that began the season as the provisional No. 1 team in the Inland Empire looks like the second-best team in its league – at best. Chaparral (Temecula) (1-5) has the worst record overall, but nobody else was taking on some of the state's best teams. What the Pumas need now are wins and confidence. Only then will they become the threat everyone expected.

"We made too many mistakes to beat a good team," Chaparral coach Tommy Leach, whose team lost three fumbles and an onside kick, told the Riverside Press Enterprise. "We're still a dangerous team and we can compete, but we can't win a game like this if we don't protect the ball."

MARMONTE MUSINGS
Westlake (Westlake Village) disposed of another "threat" to its undefeated season by posting a 35-14 victory over Moorpark, meaning the Warriors' last major hurdle before the playoffs is a date with St. Bonaventure on Nov. 5. Behind the play of quarterback Nick Isham (13 touchdowns, one interception), the receiving of Nelson Spruce (27 catches, eight TDs) and the running of Tavior Mowry (8.1 yards per carry, 8 touchdowns), Westlake has yet to score fewer than 31 points in any of its games. They haven't allowed more than 14 points, either. For comparison purposes, St. Bonaventure defeated Moorpark 28-25 and lost to Oaks Christian in overtime, 33-32. Westlake defeated Oaks Christian 31-12.

The victory of the week, though, belonged to Calabasas (3-3, 2-3), which scored a 34-28 victory over Newbury Park (2-4, 1-4). The Coyotes hadn't won a league game since 2002 when the Marmonte League expanded to eight teams, but beat Simi Valley on Oct. 1 and Newbury Park over the weekend. The 33-7 win over Simi Valley snapped a streak of at least 51 games, and the two wins in league is the most in eight seasons. Back in 2002, the two teams that Calabasas beat were Newbury Park and Simi Valley.

However, given Newbury Park's history in the league, the Coyotes' most recent victory was epic.

BISHOP AMAT HAS MOORE THAN CRESPI
Crespi (5-2), under first year coach Jon Mack, has lost two games by a combined eight points. The Celts lost to Bishop Amat (La Puente), 31-28, in a playoff-worthy matchup. The real playoff-worthy performance, though, belonged to Jalen Moore, who rushed for 270 yards on 32 carries and two touchdowns for Bishop Amat (7-0). Moore got better as the Serra League game progressed: He had 180 yards in the second half.

SAN MARINO HAS ISSUES
Mike Mooney, who is an assistant principal and football coach at San Marino, told the Pasadena Star News that he had been placed on administrative leave by the school for an undisclosed incident. The San Marino superintendent and the school's principal released a letter saying the coach had resigned, and though neither party gave a reason, the letter to the team indicated Mooney's departure had “no connection to any external complaint or criticism.”

Mooney, who coached at San Marino from 1996-97, was on the staff at San Marino and took over as head coach when D.R. Moreland resigned in March.

San Marino is 2-4 after losing its Rio Hondo League opener.

THE WEST ADAMS BAROMETER
Crenshaw (Los Angeles) (4-2), long considered the class of the City Section, scored a 46-7 victory over West Adams (1-5) in the inaugural meeting between the Coliseum League teams. How does that victory compare with some of the Panthers' notable losses to Southern Section teams? Los Alamitos (4-2) beat West Adams, 35-6; Tesoro (5-1) beat West Adams, 42-14.

THREE DOTS AND A CLOUD OF DUST
Tanner Souza scored on a punt return, interception return and a touchdown pass in St. Bonaventure's (Ventura) 56-6 win over Agoura. . . .Thousand Oaks scored 19 points in the fourth quarter but failed on a 2-point conversion attempt and lost to Oaks Christian, 28-26. That close score makes Thousand Oaks' next game, against St. Bonaventure, very intriguing. . . . Steven Manfro set a school record with 418 yards rushing as Valencia defeated West Ranch, 55-28. Actually, Manfro annihilated the record, which was 352 yards by Shane Vereen in 2006. . . . Harry Welch is making a lot of noise as the coach at Santa Margarita (5-1), but his old school – the one he won his first of two State Bowl titles with – is unbeaten. Canyon (Canyon Country) got a touchdown run from quarterback Jonathan Jerozal with nine seconds left to beat Saugus, 21-14. . . . Donte Deayon of Summit (Fontana) intercepted three passes in his team's 50-0 victory over Patriot. That's a lot of interceptions in one game, and he now has six on the season. . . . Kaiser (Fontana) thumped Mira Loma, 55-0, giving the Cats four shutouts on the season. . . . Palmdale has lost two Golden League games this season by shutout – including a 3-0 setback to Knight over the weekend – after having won 44 of 45. . . . Arcadia coach Jon Dimalante (100-71-1) won his 100th game for the Apaches with a 34-13 victory over Muir. It broke a seven-year losing streak to Muir and came in his 15th season. . . . Nine different players scored for La Quinta in a 66-6 Desert Valley League victory over Cathedral City. . . . Dorsey (Los Angeles) quarterback Joseph Gray passed for seven touchdowns in a 56-26 victory over Locke. . . . Dominguez (Compton) (5-1) has won three games by five points or less, most recently against Warren, 21-16. . . . George Farmer caught nine passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns as Serra (Gardena) defeated St. Francis, 41-14. . . . Servite (6-0) trailed for the first time this season after fumbling the opening kickoff against JSerra in a 41-7 victory. The first team defense – led by Matt Inman, Jody Thomas and Troy Niklasoa – has now allowed three touchdowns on the season, two of which have come on drives of 22 yards or less. . . . Martin Brown continued to show why St. John Bosco (Bellflower) is a threat in the Trinity League. He had 19 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns, runs of 35 and 59 yards. All the Braves have to do is keep handing him the ball until the line gets him a hole. Bosco led Mater Dei in the fourth quarter before finally losing, 31-20. . . . The most notable statistic in the Pac-5 Division may have been that Dana Hills (Dana Point) scored 20 points by halftime against Mission Viejo (6-0). Dana, which has an outstanding dual-threat quarterback in Trent Mason, lost 52-26, but the Dolphins (3-3) delivered a message that they might be the second-best team in the South Coast League ahead of higher-ranked San Clemente (5-1) and Tesoro (5-1). . . . The first domino in the Sunset League will fall on Thursday when Newport Harbor plays Los Alamitos at Veterans Stadium. Newport has beaten the Griffins the past three seasons, despite being an underdog. The league title figures to come down to the winner of this game against Edison. . . . Despite missing a starting running back Tustin rushed for 569 yards – led by Tyler Siudzinski's 178 – in a 55-0 win over Western.

RECRUITING NEWS
James Douglas, a 6-foot guard at Orange Lutheran (Orange), has committed to Northern Arizona.

Martin Henderson is a reporter for Patch.com. He began covering Southland preps in 1993 for the Los Angeles Times, and has written for several papers including the Orange County Register and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. He offers up motorsports opinions at racescribe.wordpress.com. You can reach him at southlandpreps@yahoo.com.