CANYON DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BLADE RESIGNS.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

Scott Blade, a five-year Canyon High football assistant who served as defensive coordinator for the Southern Section Div. II champion Cowboys this season, has resigned for personal reasons.

Blade remains at Canyon as a teacher but isn't participating in winter workouts.

Head coach Harry Welch said Blade, 32, plans to move to Tennessee for family reasons.

``I think it's a combination of a lot of things. We all reach points in our lives where we want a change,'' Principal Bob Messina said. ``Scott has actually been talking about this for the last couple of years. He lives in Palmdale, and it's hard to afford a house closer to Santa Clarita. Plus, his kids are getting older, and he wants to be a head coach. There's just a bundle of reasons.''

Blade wasn't available for comment.

Blade played football at Canyon and San Diego State University. He worked as a Glendale College assistant for two seasons, followed by a one-year stint at College of the Canyons in 1998. He joined Canyon's staff three years later when Welch came out of retirement for his second coaching stint.

Under Blade's guidance, Canyon was among the Southland's most improved defenses this season. The Cowboys finished 13-1 and allowed 13.4 points per game after giving up an average of 25 points over the previous two seasons.

It isn't clear if Blade will coach football in Tennessee.

Welch said Blade will be missed.

``He's the top assistant in the league. I've been so blessed to have Scott for five years and Brian Stiman for 13 years before that,'' Welch said.

Meanwhile, Welch, 60, said he has no intention of retiring anytime soon after winning his fourth career title following three successive championship seasons from 1983 to 1985.

``People inquire about it all the time but I'm not going anywhere,'' he said. ``I still feel young. I've never felt better in my life.''

--There's more to Golden Valley High girls' basketball standout Meredith Mathis than just sports. The sophomore is tied for No. 1 in her class with a 4.5 grade-point average - she's never received a grade lower than an ``A'' since beginning high school - to earn a nomination for a CIF Scholar-Athlete award. Mathis also is an accomplished artist who has completed numerous paintings, and she's also fluent in American sign language. She can also solve a rubics cube in less than three minutes.

After helping Golden Valley's frosh team to a 20-3 record last season, Mathis, a 5-foot-9 center, is averaging 14.3 points and 10 rebounds to carry the seniorless Grizzlies to a 14-12 regular-season finish in the freelance school's first year of varsity competition.

--Tatiana Scott, a 10-year-old gymnast from Santa Clarita, finished first on the floor exercise, second all-around and third overall to help the local Pikes youth team place second at large-scale tournament in Corona last weekend.

The Pikes are composed of athletes from Gymnastics Unlimited in Canyon Country.

Scott scored a 9.2 on the floor exercise. Other top performers included Katie Schmidt, 11, (fourth all-around), Christine Vivit, 12, (third floor) and Courtney Louis, 14. The coaches are Jeff Vamvas and Vanessa Atler.

--The Valencia High boys' volleyball team, a defending Southern Section Div. II finalist after winning section titles in 2004 and 2003, is primed for another promising season, as three NCAA Division I-bound seniors return - setter Kevin Ker (UCLA), middle blocker Teddy Goetz (UCLA) and and outside hitter Sean Carter (Cal State Northridge).

``Our 10 seniors will be finishing off what may the most successful four-year span in the program's history, starting in 2003 when, as freshman playing on the JV, they went an entire season without losing a single game - 59-0,'' fourth-year coach Mark Knudsen said.

--The Santa Clarita Wildcats youth football team has left the Pacific Youth Football League and joined the fledgling Gold Coast League because of philosophical differences with the PYFL, which separates divisions based on age and not size.

``The main reason (for the switch) is safety for our players,'' coach John Torres said. ``In the previous league, we had a 65-pound player on the field with a 135-pound player. ... I was very concerned for the smaller players. Safety has to be the No. 1 priority.''

In other youth-football news, the Canyon Country Athletic Association is holding football and cheerleading signups on March 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sierra Vista Junior High in Canyon Country. Information: [phone].

--The North L.A. County Wildcats, a club rugby team composed of high school students from Canyon and Valencia, is 4-0-1 heading into a special exhibition at Home Depot Center in Carson aT 8 a.m. today, preceding the high-profile International Sevens Rugby tournament.

Tickets are $35, which includes admittance for the entire day.

Among the Wildcats' top players are Chris Barnes, Blaine Balckstone, Javier Lozano, Alex Bercovici, Sonny Castro, Chad Chebbi, George Alvira, Derek Anderson, Nick Thorpe, Richard Pitts and Randal Stone.