Lesson Learned With Penalties Over Equipment

The truth is, we want to be angry.

We want to be mad at Reardan for pointing out the infraction.

We want to be mad at the referees for allowing a seemingly minor complaint turn into a major incident.

We want to be mad at John Custer, who, metaphorically speaking, went down before the ship.

But we can’t.

Instead, we are amazed it took this long for a hard lesson to be learned, this one at Freeman’s expense.

To recap: During the Reardan-Freeman mini-game tiebreaker last week, the Reardan sideline pointed out that some Freeman players did not have proper hip pads. The officials checked and confirmed the infraction, then issued a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty is charged to the coach, in this case Freeman’s Custer.

Another player was found in violation and another penalty followed. Two unsportsmanlike penalties against one person means ejection. An ejection means automatic suspension for the next game. Good-bye coach.

Reardan and the referees have been cursed by Freeman fans - not school officials or the coach - because Custer had to sit out the Scotties’ playoff game. Many believe Custer should have appealed the ejection/suspension with hopes of being on the sideline last Saturday when the Scotties lost in their first playoff appearance in 10 years.

But what would have happened had a player been injured because he was improperly padded?

Would Custer be vilified because his players weren’t protected? Would Reardan officials be liable because they knew and didn’t say anything?

Would referees be under attack because they didn’t strictly enforce a seemingly minor rule?

The bogeyman in all of this is whoever wrote the rule book. Unsportsmanlike is harsh language for an equipment violation.

When you think of unsportsmanlike penalties and ejections you think of cheap shots, dirty play, out-of-control players, crazy coaches. The Scotties and Custer certainly don’t fit into that category.

But the rules are clear. Freeman should have been penalized and Custer should have been out. He knows that and accepted the consequences.

Jack Shagool, who has been a referee for more than four decades - since players used leather helmets without face masks - did the right thing.

Reardan did what it should have done: point out a safety violation. Question the timing, question the intent, but don’t question the result.

That all of this occurred on a playoff stage adds drama. It also draws attention to an important issue.

Before each game, the head referee asks the head coach if his players are properly equipped. The coach always gives an affirmative answer. The umpire follows up by asking if there are any players who should be checked and invariably the answer is no.

That exchange isn’t just a formality.

Safety is paramount in athletics, football in particular.

If coaches on either sideline are overlooking that, they better rethink their profession.

If referees are overlooking that, they better get out now.

If players are ignoring that, they better consider the possible consequences to their teammates, even if they don’t believe they can be injured.

It was a hard lesson to learn, but a good one.

News and notes

Oops. The scores of the last three Prosser-Moses Lake games were 37-32, 27-20, 17-14, but the middle score was from last year’s playoffs when Moses Lake won. Prosser’s Mustangs have a 79-game winning streak in league games and Moses Lake is the only Mid-Valley team to beat them during that stretch… . Redmond, in the first playoff game in its 34-year history, rallied from a 15-0 deficit for a 25-18 win over South Kitsap, which was in the playoffs for the 19th straight season. The Wolves entered the playoffs at an unsightly 5-4 because two games were forfeited. That includes the season opener to Cascade, which is still playing with a perfect record. … O’Dea, which only allowed two touchdowns all year, lost to White River 7-0… . 3A O’Dea wasn’t the only No. 1 team to fall. Columbia River fell in 4A and Cle Elum lost in 1A… . Chuck Tarbox’s 37-year coaching career came to an end when Capital defeated Eastside Catholic 34-21. Tarbox won back-to-back titles at Juanita in the 80’s… . Two high-profile Washington players are leaving the state. Eastlake (Redmond) quarterback Matt Berry is headed to Brigham Young. Kent-Meridian’s 6-0, 222-pound running back Robin Miller committed to Nebraska… . Wahluke finished with its first winning season at 6-3, getting a boost from Josh Robinson. Robinson, who would have been the only returning starter from Colfax’s state finalist last year had the family not moved, rushed for 1,300 yards.