Wednesday, September 9, 1992 - North Shore News - 47 Carson reunion honors football coach Farl Henderson’s overseen Carson Graham program since it started in 1965 NEXT WEEKEND will be a busy one for past and present football players from Carson’ Graham Sec- ondary. By A.P. McCredie Sports Reporter On Friday night, graduates of coach Earl Henderson’s football program are invited to a Carson Graham Football Reunion, in- cluding a special fundraising din- ner with proceeds going to the Tim Buchanan scholarship fund. The following day, the current players will take on their division Tivals. the Handsworth Royals, at Kinsman Stadium in the annual Buchanan Bowl. Kick-off time is 1:30 p.m. The annual Bowl game has been Played between the rival squads for two decades, but was named after the late Tim Buchanan in 1987. Buchanan was a principal at Argyle Secondary, a vice-principal at Carson Graham and a teacher at Handsworth, The schelarships dedicated in Buchanan‘s ‘name go to one foot- ball graduate from- both Hand- sworth and Carson Graham. siday night’s reunion of past Carson Graham players has at- tracted a lot of interest according to assistant coach and reunion organizer Larry Donohoe. ‘A big reason for having the reunion is that coach Henderson ‘is taking a one-year sabbatical next year,’’ said Donohoe. ‘‘He has touched a great mary players’ lives, and tiis is the chance for ‘some of them to show their thanks.’” : Henderson’s, name is syn- onymous with Carson Graham football. When the football program started in 1965 at the school, Henderson. was the head coach. He has coached every footbail squad since, except for one-year wher he was on a leave of absence. - During that time, the program has produced over 60 players that 2 a 3 NEWS photo Neil Lucente Carson Graham football coach Earl Henderson puts this year’s team through some pre-season prectice in preparation fer. the 1992 high school season. The Eagies meet division rival Handsworth on Saturday at Kinsman stadium in the annual Buchanan Bowl. . have gone on to play at the col- lege level — both in Canada and the United States — and _ nine players that have made their living in the CFL. Two of those players — B.C. Lion Sean Millington and Glen Suitor of the Saskatchewan Roughriders — are currently play- ing in the league. Henderson’s coaching philoso- phy is simple: a team that plays together, wins together. “The most important thing I look for in a young player is he has to have a real interest in play- ing, and he has to be able to un- derstand a team concept,’’ Henderson said. Testimony to that belief is the fact that no player has ever been cut from a Carson Graham foot- ball team. If they want to be on the team and are willing to devote the time and energy to the team, then they make the team. Canucks’ Ronning on the front AT ONE point on the back nine of the Burnaby Moun- tain Golf Course last week our foursome lost a player, ‘at least temporarily. Cliff Ronning, who grew up just a chip-shot away from the course, couldn’t resist climbing down a smali bank to check on the crayfish in an adjacent creek. **When we were kids,” he ex- plained later, ‘“‘we used to sneak onte the course and coilect these little suckers. We'd sell them to a Chinese restaurant in Burnaby.”’ Ronning, 27 on the Ist of next month, is obviously still a kid at heart. But he’s in a big people’s game right now as his contract negotia- tions with the Vancouver Canucks . have reached the arbitration stage. As of this writing, neither Ron- ning nor his agent — North Van- couver lawyer Ron Perrick — are ‘sure the zesty little centreman will be reporting to the Canucks’ training camp this weekend in Victoria, When Ronning arrived in Van- couver March 5, 1991, from the St. Louis Blues, he brought with him a coniract that called for $165,000 per season. Nobody made a big deal out of it at the time because Ronning was just one player of six involved in the most dynamic trade of Pat Quinn’s career as president and general manager of the Canucks. Ronning, Geoff Courtnall, Sergio Momesso and Robert Dirk came this way from Missouri; Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn headed south. But the popular Burnaby native, who had scored 89 goals and 108 assists in his final year of junior hockey with the New Westminster Bruins, quickly won the hearts of the Pacific Coliseum regulars. Last year he played in all 80 regular season games and finished second in scoring to captain Trevor Linden, with 24 goals and 47 assists. During the playoffs, he was se- cond in scoring to Courtnall, with eight goals and five assists in 13 Greg GOAL LINES games. On the golf course, wearing jean cut-offs and sockless shoes, it’s difficult to imagine this five- foot-eight, 17S-pound person ac- tually makes his living crashing into corners and challenging the hulks of the NHL without missing “And there’s been some years where we had over 50 players on the roster,’’ Henderson recalled. The average size for a football team is about 40 players. This year’s senior team has a’ strong core of seniors frorn last year’s squad, plus some promising new players coming up from the junior football team. . This season will be only the se- cond year of junior football at Carson Graham. “In the past we have always had a very strong rugby team,”’~ said Henderson.. ‘‘Now that the rugby season is played in the spring, we have enough players with time in the fall to play junior football.” If you played for Henderson and are interested in the reunion, or would just tke information about the Buchanan Bowl, call Larry at 987-9341, line in contract talks. a beat over the tigorous 80-game schedule. Ronning, at the urging of Per- rick, kept quiet when the Canucks rewrote Courtnall’s contract and paid hin: $625,000 on an annual basis. Nothing was said, either, when Linden became the club’s first Million-Dollar Man (with goaltender Kirk McLean soon to follow). But now, entering his cption year, Ronning wants his status ad- justed accordingly. When Brian Burke was holding down the position of vice-presi- ~ dent of hockey cperations, indica- tions pointed to Ronning not hav- ing to worry about his immediate future. “Tt was last fall when Burke told us he’d be making what he referred to as a ‘drop-dead’ of- fer,"’ Perrick says. “But when Burke left for Maztford (as gener- al manager), we had to go back to the drawing table." Burke’s replacement, George McPhee, has been fencing with Perrick since his arrival this past summer. Besides Ronning, Perrick repre- sents four other front-line players: Greg Adams, Jim Sandlact, Troy Gamble and Jay Mazur. Gamble and Mazur will be play- ing out their options this coming season, and arbitration seems to be the only existing route for the other three. “At the moment,”’ says Perrick, “*Ronning’s case is at the front of the line. Arbitration hearings go in sequence of filing and we filed long ago. It’s obviously coming to a head.”’ Qn the golf course, Ronning chooses not to talk about his hockey career. He’s content to smack the ball with authority and stop to check on the occasional crayfish. Indeed, there are bigger fish to fry. Ronning just smiles: ‘*That’s what agents are for, right?”’ Over to you, Mr. Perrick, our learned friend.