COWBOYS TO PLAY FOR CHAMPIONSHIP, AGAIN BACK IN THE SADDLE WELCH RETURNS CANYON TO DOMINANCE AFTER ABSENCE.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

It's approaching 72 hours before kickoff and already Harry Welch wishes he had more time.

``This reporter wants me to call him back ... they need all of this paperwork filled out ... these papers need to be corrected ... this guy wants seven field passes ... they might want me to put a tape together,'' said Welch, apologizing Wednesday for speaking in a whining tone.

``I need to be able to prepare my team to play football on Saturday.''

December is usually the best time for the Canyon High football coach, who regularly spends in excess of 15 hours a day at school to make sure Cowboy football is at its best.

But on this day, time is at a premium as Welch juggles phone calls from several media outlets while filling out the mound of paperwork required for consideration to represent Southern California in the inaugural Div. I state bowl game Dec. 16.

In between, he's working on lesson plans for the classes he teaches, responding to e-mails about field passes for Saturday's Northern Division championship game against Moorpark at Home Depot Center in Carson, tracking down game film of the Musketeers and getting updates on the status of Cipriano Maldonado's broken left tibia.

Needless to say, Welch barely has enough time to change into his practice attire for Canyon's afternoon workout.

To top it all off, a friend is pressing him about a long, circuitous career in which he built a championship dynasty at Canyon through the 1980s, stepped down amid controversy in the 1990s, then returned to resurrect the program a decade later.

Welch's greatness was certified during his first run. Had he never returned he would have remained one of the greatest coaches in region history. After this run, the list starts with him.

How does he do it? How does he take ordinary players and mold them into champions year in and year out?

In the seven years Welch was away from the program, Canyon went an unremarkable 38-46 while Hart of Newhall dominated the Foothill League and consistently churned out NCAA Division I players.

Since he has been back, the Cowboys are 57-16, including a Southern Section championship last year in which they beat Hart in the title game.

Saturday, they can complete another championship run with a victory against Moorpark.

``I don't have the answer for why we've been successful,'' Welch said. ``I have no magic formula.''

This much he knows: There are no shortcuts. He's a stickler for detail, and he expects the same from his players and coaches. Mistakes aren't tolerated. If the star linebacker misses an assignment, he's coming out of the game to think about it.

``I never stop challenging,'' Welch said. ``Nothing is given to them.''

Notice the perfect grammar in everything he says.

For Welch, a longtime English teacher, putting a comma in the right place is as important as making the right read on a blitz package. He's as likely to quote Shakespeare or Confucius as Vince Lombardi.

Brian Stiman knows Welch better than most. Stiman coached under Welch at Canyon for 13 years, then moved on to build a successful program across town at Valencia.

In the late 1990s, Welch started contemplating a return to the sideline. Most still considered him too radioactive after his controversial exit in 1994. Stiman was the only one to reach out, hiring his mentor as Valencia's offensive coordinator.

``He's one of the most driven high school football coaches I've been around,'' Stiman said. ``The greatest preparation I could possibly have for being a head football coach was working with Harry. He taught me more than any other situation I could be in.''

Welch's stint at Valencia helped pave the way for his return to Canyon in 2001.

``They say you can't go back, but he's gone back and been successful,'' Stiman said. ``For Harry, it has come full circle again.''

Fast times at Canyon High

During his first 12 years as Canyon's coach, Welch pushed the Cowboys into the national spotlight, winning 120 games -- including a then national-record 46-game winning streak -- and three Southern Section titles from 1983-85.

The headlines weren't all positive. Welch often found himself embroiled in controversy, like the time he smashed a trophy case and took out a water fountain, chalkboard and door after an emotional playoff loss at Santa Barbara in 1989.

Then there was the illegal practice he was accused of holding in 1991. It took two years of court battles with the Southern Section to finally clear his name.

In 1993, he was involved in a physical altercation after being attacked by a player's father.

The incidents scarred his reputation in many eyes, and led to a lot of soul searching.

``I've done it my way and I'm proud of it,'' he said. ``But doing it my way also means it was done with enumerable flaws.

``I look back and wish I had dealt with this young man differently or treated that young man differently or met the needs of certain families more differently.

``In trying to push kids to the limit, like a dad, maybe was I too hard on them? Or did I ask too much of them? Afterward, not only do I feel bad, but I feel like why did I do it?''

Since coming back, Welch has reached out to some of his detractors.

``I tried to mend some fences,'' he said. ``Some of those have been very successfully accomplished. Some I'm still working on.''

Fortunately for Welch, the mass of loyal supporters far outweighs the list of enemies. On his office bulletin board, Welch keeps a black-and- white photo of John Wooden screaming and pointing at a player to remind him that even the coach who he reveres as the ``greatest of his lifetime'' often demonstrated the same passion and drive to succeed.

``They know what they're going to get,'' said Rod Baltau, a member of Canyon's 1988 team that lost to Antelope Valley in the Div. II final who is now one of Welch's assistants.

``They may not always like it, but it's the pursuit of perfection. That's what he expects of himself.''

Welch's level of expectation helped former Canyon players Chuck Osborne and Brent Parkinson reach the NFL.

``The NFL is nothing compared to what I went through (at Canyon),'' Osborne said.

Kenny Sollom agrees.

When Sollom played at Michigan, a reporter asked him if he felt he was mentally and emotionally ready to play for legendary coach Bo Schembechler.

``I played for Harry Welch,'' Sollom answered. ``Of course I'm ready.''

Jim Zopelis played under Welch in the early 1990s before moving on to WestPoint. He later became a major in the U.S. Army.

``If (these) guys do not think it is more than football they are learning, they are missing out on leadership development every day,'' said Zopelis, who still signs every e-mail with No. 2, his jersey at Canyon. ``It is not just me who thinks that either.''

Welch's contributions extend beyond the football field. After learning that 6-year-old Jacob DeLong, son of Canyon cross country and track coach Dave DeLong, had been diagnosed with leukemia, Welch agreed to match any donation that was collected to assist the family with medical costs. Nearly $3,000 was raised in a 10-minute span following an announcement at one home football game.

``Whether Dave and I are best friends or not doesn't matter,'' Welch said. ``His son is an extended member of our family here at Canyon and he has cancer and I wanted to do something to help him out.''

A dynasty reborn

Canyon started the season 1-2, dropping a last-second heartbreaker to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and falling to St.Bonaventure of Ventura by a touchdown. Last season's win over Hart in the Div. II championship game seemed like ancient history at that point.

But the Cowboys have rebounded to win nine straight, crushing three straight playoff opponents in the process.

Still, Welch enters Saturday's final wondering if he has done enough.

``Have I prepared them adequately?'' Welch asks himself. ``If we come out and show a lesser effort, then the blame falls squarely on me.''

With that, Welch is off to practice. He'll spend whatever time he has left before Saturday's big game trying to make sure that doesn't happen.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Canyon coach Harry Welch has his hands full as the Cowboys prepare for the Northern Division championship game.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Canyon coach Harry Welch gets drenched by his team as Canyon wins the CIF championship over Hart on Dec. 9, 2005.

Gene Blevins/Staff Photographer

Box:

CANYON (10-2) vs. MOORPARK (11-2)