L.A. City Section Football: What Happened to Bell Football?

L.A. City Section Football: What Happened to Bell Eagles Football?

On Friday, Bell High will honor its 1994 3A City Championship team before the team takes on Franklin.  The 3A City Title was a well respected title back in the days where only the 3A and 4A Divisions existed.  Teams were pre-determined before the season began and much as it is now, the divisions were balanced.  Only, no one ever expected Bell High to ever win a title, let alone football.  The team was coached by Henry Santiago who is now the Athletic Director at Bell High School and he guided that 94' team to an unlikely Championship. Bell has not won a football championship since then and have struggled in even making a run at one in the last few years.  So what has changed?
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Bell Eagles Football in the Eastern League

In 2007, when current head coach Frank Medina took over, the team went 1-8 overall record and 1-5 in league. In Medina's second year, the team improved to a 4-6 overall record yet still 1 -5 in the Eastern League.  In 2009, the team continued their steady improvement finishing with an overall record of 7-4 and 3-3 in league including a win over powerhouse Garfield.  Yet, since 2007 till now the team's overall record has been 33-42 and 15-27 in league.  It seems like the Bell Eagles are stuck in stalemate. It is no secret that the Eastern League is one the toughest leagues in the City Section.  Garfield, Roosevelt, South East and the emergence of South Gate a top contender make it very tough to win in league yet the Eagles lack that classic hardnosed football that the 94' team had and led them to success.
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Bell High Pride

When you drive around the Bell campus you will notice that on top of their main gym, it says "EAGLE PRIDE" in bright purple and gold letters.  The Bell Football program needs to go back to being a respected program in the City Section and in the Eastern League as it once was in the 90's.  The program has been battle tested in one of the toughest leagues and it now needs to step forward and compete with the top teams just as Garfield, South Gate and Roosevelt have done.  We can only hope that when they are honoring that 94' team on Friday, the players feel a sense of pride and respect for a team that no one thought could win a City Title.  It will be like looking in the mirror. Find Out Why Appy Pie is the Fastest Growing App Builder Service in the World!

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