Nobody says he broke the rules. Basically, they’re saying he was an asshole, and he’s apologizing for having been an asshole. Because he was an asshole. Probably high school coaches, who are supposed to be teachers after all, shouldn’t be assholes, or should at least try to tamp down their assholery and apologize when it gets the better of them.
Good grief. Common decency doesn’t come with a rulebook.
It does look like they eased up in the second half at least. They were up 83-0 at half time, so they only scored 23 in the second half. They could have scored some of those on turnovers and punt returns.
As to the scoring, there’s only so much a coach can do. If a runner breaks free the runner is going to try to score. You can run the ball up the middle three times and you might still get a long touchdown run.
Good gravy.
To echo Scott, these are school kids. Winning big is a great opportunity for the coach to play the third string, try different plays, etc.
There is no law against being a dick to people, doesn’t mean it is OK to do that. Same principle applies here.
Gladguy
2840
I’m with ya on this one, @Menzo.
Playing high school sports at anything less than full effort runs a risk for injury. Plus, the athletes on the better team still have every reason to try their hardest; they may be playing for a scholarship!
In any event, these two schools should obviously not be playing in the same conference/division/whatever. That’s on the athletic director, not the coach or the players.
He can…not go for a 2-point conversion when he’s up 104-0. Maybe just kick the extra point?
Yes, that was stupid. He wanted to tie a recent record. He even used the first string QB, though I suspect the QB didn’t otherwise play much in the second half.
It isn’t even a record, it’s just the best result in the last 5 years. Who cares?
Timex
2844
In little league, they actually do have a mercy rule that kicks in.
The first string QB threw 13 TDs. Probably could have put in the backup after half that.
Yeah, per that article the starting QB played the entire game.
Yeah, also has this tidbit:
Morningside first-year coach Collins was clearly not pleased with any of it. He told Los Angeles Times writer Eric Sondheimer attempts to go to a running clock early in the second quarter were unsuccessful. “The refs asked (Inglewood) to run the clock and they refused,” Collins said.
Somebody needs to Dazed and Confused his ass with a crumpled-up pledge letter thrown right in his face.
Running clock is built into the rules here in PA. This legitimately can’t happen here. Not sure why California is that stupid.
Either way the coach running it up is a total asshole. That QB should have been pulled at 28-0. I’ve coached a ton of youth sports in soccer, baseball, and basketball. You just don’t do shit like this unless you’re a mouth breathing motherfucking loser.
At least pull him in the first half when they are 40 or 50 up. The game’s over at that point. Why risk your star QB pulling a muscle or something? There are all kinds of non-contact injuries that can happen.
Kid’s going to QB at UCLA. He wont’ be throwing many more TDs.
Running clock kicks in automatically here in Ohio as soon as a team goes up by 35+ points in the second half. In California it appears the same rule applies but only in the 4th quarter.
The starting QB had to be playing well into the 3rd quarter as 13 TDs + 13 PATs is 91 points, and they were only winning 83-0 at halftime (and I would assume not every first half score was a passing play, the RBs must have had at least a couple of TD runs). So with those figures in mind, YES, this coach is absolutely a complete and utter asshat. I’ve coached, organized, acted as AD and been a parent/spectator of a metric crapton of boys and girls youth sports for two decades, and I have never seen anyone keep their starters in a game that lopsided. The starting QB, RB, and several others should have been taken out at various points in the second quarter as it became obvious how outmatched the opponent was. By halftime it should have been pretty much all second string players, and by the end of the third quarter it should have literally been the end of the bench on the field.
That’s not just good sportsmanship either, it also being prudent with your most valuable players. Why risk an injury to your starting QB and other starting players in a meaningless blowout? If that QB had been injured in the third quarter, when you were up 90-0, and it ended his season and possibly killed your team’s chances of winning a district, regional or possibly state title? Stupid. And for what? This coach should be let go immediately and should have no place in youth sports.
Matt_W
2855
Yeah, whatever LL division my son is in: out of mercy to the parents they end the games at the 2 hour point.
