W.Va High School football chaos

You let me know how this turns out, OK?

 

Pennsylvania as well.

 

1. Uhm, when the ref orders a player to leave the field, it's called "ejection."

2. Uhm, the refs need to read their rule books. There is a penalty short of ejection designed to get players to desist unsportsmanlike conduct in the "heat of battle"; it's called a 15-yard penalty. If that doesn't get the player to quit, the next step is ejection.

Probably 90% of on-field brawls/free-for-alls are the result of refs using "judgment," "warnings," "latitude" and "discretion" in calling penalties which are clearly defined in the rule book. (See also hand-checking, hip-checking, and elbowing in basketball.)

Sending a screw-loose hothead player swinging fists to the sidelines for a few plays to cool off is wonderful and saves him an embarrassing and costly ejection, but in effect it penalizes the 21 other players on the field not swinging their fists.

 

I think you misunderstood me. He had to physically get off the field. Most ejections I've seen, the player is banished to the locker room/bus/as far out of sight as possible. He was sent to the bench.
I like when officials take some discretion. I don't like it when high school officials forget they are supposed to help the teaching process and start taking the game in their own hands.

 

Probably the most important step in the "teaching process" should be "follow the rules."

If the rules say you can't punch guys (under penalty of ejection), don't do it.

 

Exactly.

 

So what did the TV stations do? And were the brawls mentioned in the papers?

 

They showed the brawls on TV. They were talked about in the papers. They were even spoofed in the Providence Newspaper Guild Follies.

 

"Your Honor, I object!!"

 

Update:
AA game tonight. A game Saturday night.
AAA game has been postponed until ??? ... State Supreme Court to consider WVSSAC appeal Tuesday.
My guess is the court will uphold the SSAC's decision, but not overturn the results of the Brooke-SC game. Instead, South Charleston will play the championship game with the suspended players forced to sit out.

 

State Supreme Court rules for SSAC.