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Lazear out of football limbo
Whitman star moved to Wheaton High while awaiting word on legal status
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006
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by Chay Rao
Staff Writer
Former Whitman High School standout Pat Lazear’s football future has been in question ever since he was charged in May with armed robbery in connection with the robbery of a Bethesda Smoothie King store. That question was answered last week, when a Montgomery County Public School hearing examiner moved Lazear and former teammates and former teammates Tommy Ashley and Justin Schweiger from Whitman High to three different schools. Lazear has transferred to Wheaton High, Ashley to Richard Montgomery High and Schweiger to Rockville High. All three will be allowed to play football this fall while they await the outcome of their legal cases, a compromise solution that emerged from the trio’s cloudy legal future.
Ashley, Lazear and Schweiger were arrested in May along with teammate Robert Warren and Whitman classmate Alex Krouskas. The five were charged in the March 30 robbery of the Smoothie King store on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. The defendants are awaiting the outcome of defense motions to move the case to juvenile court. Hearings on the motions for Lazear and Schweiger are on Aug. 30 and 31, respectively. Ashley, Warren and Krouskas will have their motions heard on Sept. 14.
In the meantime Lazear, for one, will be allowed to take refuge from the swirling controversy on the football field. His father, Harry Lazear, also emphasized that it was important that his son is back in school.
‘‘We absolutely wanted to get back into school,” Harry Lazear said. ‘‘We’re disappointed that he could not remain at Whitman, but Pat is adjusting well.”
The rising senior led Whitman with 1,082 rushing yards and scored 20 touchdowns at running back last season. He was such a fearsome linebacker that more than 30 Division I college football programs came looking, eventually offering athletic scholarships.
However, the question remains as to why Lazear was assigned to play for the Knights, who play in Montgomery County’s 3A⁄2A⁄1A Division, and went 5-5 in 2005. According to the charging documents filed in May, Lazear’s home address is in Bethesda. Wheaton High is nine miles from Whitman.
‘‘What I’ll say is that he’s a good kid,” first-year Wheaton football coach Tom Neal said. ‘‘He’s been working very hard and we’re having a lot of fun.”
When asked about the decision to transfer the three players, MCPS Director of Athletics William Beattie deferred to Brian Edwards, the school systems’ director of information. Edwards declined comment, saying that MCPS does not discuss disciplinary action taken against students, which it considered a private matter. Harry Lazear, an assistant football coach at Whitman last year who called himself ‘‘officially retired” this year, offered little insight.
‘‘We had no decision in the matter,” he said. ‘‘It was tough, but it was not up to us. We’re hoping to be able to pull Wheaton up, but it’s certainly devastating to Whitman.”
That ‘‘devastation” was compounded by the fact that Ashley, a starter on Whitman’s offensive line, and Schweiger, the Vikings’ top returning receiver, were also assigned to other schools. Richard Montgomery coach Mike Burnell confirmed that Ashley has been attending Rockets practices, and Rockville athletics director Paul Fahrner said Schweiger began working out with the Rams on Monday.
Whitman, which went 4-6 last season and missed the playoffs, is now without three of its best football players.
‘‘I really don’t want to get into all that,” Whitman head coach Eric Wallich said. ‘‘My kids are fine, and we’re going to move on.”
Lazear, also a standout wrestler, will have to move on, as well. With several college teams — including Georgia, Nebraska and Maryland — awaiting his decision, Lazear has an important senior year ahead of him on the field.
‘‘It’s the fact that he’s playing,” Harry Lazear said. ‘‘It doesn’t matter where he plays. He’s got over 30 offers on the table [because] of his merits on the field, and he could commit tomorrow if he wants to. No one has taken any offers back.”
If the cases of the five defendants from Whitman remain in Montgomery County Circuit Court, a tentative trial date has been set for Oct. 3. According to Beattie, MCPS does not have any written guidelines about athletic participation for students facing criminal charges.
‘‘He’s missed a few days of practice, but he’s a smart kid,” Neal said of his new player. ‘‘We’re a new coaching staff, so all the kids are doing the same thing. It’s a new system, and he’s picking up stuff well.”