Posted on 12/07/2011 7:46:17 PM PST by GreaterSwiss
OSTON -- A Massachusetts high school lost a state championship game because a player raised his arm in triumph as he ran for what would have been a go-ahead touchdown, and Boston mayor Thomas Menino doesn't like it.
The penalty for the gesture by Cathedral High School quarterback Matthew Owens in Saturday's Division 4A Super Bowl led to the losing team wondering if the referee's decision could be challenged. The state association said Wednesday that it could not.
"I think sometimes these rules are written by frustrated athletes," Menino said from Cathedral, according to Wednesday's Boston Herald. "They never participated in a sport, and they don't know what it is to be excited. You play in a football game, you run for a touchdown, and you do something special."
Blue Hills Regional Technical School athletic director Ed Catabia told The Boston Globe on Sunday that the referee made "a great call, the right call."
"We try and play by the rules, and the rule is 'no celebrating,' " he said.
The referee was enforcing a sportsmanship rule that prohibits players from celebratory or taunting behavior while scoring a touchdown.
MIAA Statement
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has issued a statement, sent to multiple media outlets Wednesday afternoon, regarding Saturday's Boston Cathedral versus Blue Hills Regional Vocational Eastern Mass Division 4A Super Bowl.
The 18-year-old senior was racing for a score as time wound down in the game against Blue Hills. Video shows Owens briefly raising his left arm and then lowering it as he approaches the end zone. The penalty nullified the touchdown, and Cathedral lost the game 16-14.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
Why even play any games? An individual from each school all meet in the closest professional stadium, shake hands, and a local politician hands each a “First Place” trophy./s
I think a 20 yard penalty on the next kickoff would have been adequate
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Besides, how can anyone on the team which was handed the victory by an official feel any sense of accomplishment? They clearly lost the game on the playing field to a superior (that day) team.
Personally I see no problem with a celebration after a score but think the anti taunting rule is appropriate.
It’s a hollow victory to be sure.
Thank you JosephMama. IMO the rules need to be changed. Taunting is as much of sports as is trash talk. To penalize these kids for success is just B.S. as is the concept of not keeping score and giving everyone a trophy. Namby pambys! The PC’ers need to get out of the sports arena.
I lived in Alabama for 24 years and was a Bama fan all the while, so your pitiful effort to taunt is just that, pitiful, in comparison to Auburn fans with ‘Punt Bama, punt!’
He never shuts up. Especially in their 09 run.
At least my Saints ended up with their Heisman Trophy winner.
The Tiger/Tide BCS Championship will be a great game.
The SEC is excitement, its real College Football.
GEAUX TIGERS
It will be a most interesting game. I just hope the coaching staff of Bama doesn’t make the same kind of mistakes they made in the first game. [BTW, the most common surprise for those who play against an SEC team in a bowl game is ‘man, they’re fast’. SEC is all about fast defensive players. It wins football games ... and, as with Miss St and Ole Miss anf Tennessee, and their lack of speed on defense, it also loses games.
AND the same team was called for taunting earlier in the game. You’d think that a high school senior would have the short term memory to understand that they ARE calling hat particular penalty in this game.
Kids are usually idiots. These kids are no exception.
It might not have been in the article. But it was on a Boston sports station yesterday.
I photograph several high school games throughout MA and I’ve seen this called probably half a dozen times over the season.
The message to the kids is celebrate after you cross the goal line if you feel you must. But don’t do it on the field...or you will get called back.
The bigger lesson here is that folks need to be wary believing that the articles you are reading are giving you the complete story—in this case if folks understood the context, they would not be as outraged.
Is it a shame that this happened? Sure. Was this a surprise call? Not to anyone who’s watched more than a few MIAA games this season.
Exactly.
It was called for the first time this year against LSU. It sucked but didn't cost them the game as it did the HS.
Thanks, you really helped with the discussion.
After the emotions set for some, they may see clearly now why the call was made.
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