HS game to be reviewed by courts...Douglas HS Okla

[Soonerjeepman]

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/1...cmp=latestnews

An Oklahoma high school football team has thrown a legal Hail Mary in its bid to get a loss in the state playoffs overturned.

Oklahoma City’s Frederick A. Douglass High School lost a thriller, 20-19, to Locust Grove in the playoff quarterfinals on Nov. 28. A touchdown with just 64 seconds remaining that appeared to put Douglass ahead, 25-20, was overturned on a penalty that everyone now acknowledges was incorrectly enforced.


Interesting...what's your take? Personally I think this opens a big ol can of worms for the future. Dang I understand fairness...but man, we are really changing how Americans view things.

[badger]

It's getting a lot of national press. There is no precedent for this in football. I think OSSAA had a replay of a volleyball game a few years ago for some reason, but that's a different sport. On top of that, bad ref calls are part of football, as any OU fan can attest to during the Stoops era

As such, if the adults cannot act like adults, declare both teams as losers and let their would-be next opponent advance to the finals uncontested. Perhaps that's the toddler mommy in me picturing two kids fighting over the same toy, then just taking it away and putting it out of the reach of both of them.

[Soonerjeepman]

I'm sure the "winning team" isn't complaining about the bad "call". I can live with a bad call, that happens...but the enforcement was the issue. Wrong enforcement (which is not judgement but pretty black and white) which then basically took the TD and win away. Pretty sure that ref won't ref again...at least not HS V ball.

[jkjsooner]

bad ref calls are part of football

No offense but I hate that saying to no end. Bad calls may be inevitable but they are not a part of the game in the same sense as players actions are a part of the game. A QB throwing an interception is part of the game. A player lining up offsides in part of the game. We go to games to watch imperfect humans play the game. We do not go to watch imperfect refs call the game. If there are things we can do to make officiating the game more exact and precise I'd be all for it.

I'd never go watch perfect robots play a game of football. (Well, maybe once out of curiosity.) I would have no problem with perfect robots calling the game.

[FaninAma]

No offense but I hate that saying to no end. Bad calls may be inevitable but they are not a part of the game in the same sense as players actions are a part of the game. A QB throwing an interception is part of the game. A player lining up offsides in part of the game. We go to games to watch imperfect humans play the game. We do not go to watch imperfect refs call the game. If there are things we can do to make officiating the game more exact and precise I'd be all for it.

I'd never go watch perfect robots play a game of football. (Well, maybe once out of curiosity.) I would have no problem with perfect robots calling the game.

So refs aren't human? This is a very silly move on Douglas' part. Replay's are fine but if you take the human element out of officiating the game then you've fundamentally changed the game.

[Jacie]

If we are going to have do overs, there was this Olympic basketball game . . .

[BoulderSooner79]

If we are going to have do overs, there was this Olympic basketball game . . .

And this college football game up in Eugene…

[Eielson]

It's ridiculous. Yeah, they screwed up, and Douglas probably should have won, but you don't get do overs. Life isn't fair.

Now the playoffs are being delayed. I don't feel that bad for Locust Grove, as they were probably unfairly granted a victory, but I do feel bad for the other HS that is waiting around to play somebody.

Locust Grove should find some holding penalties earlier in the game that weren't called. I can almost guarantee you that somebody on Douglas could have been called for some kind of hold or illegal block on at least one of the scoring plays. Perhaps an O-line moved a split second early? It happens all the time. Move on.

[Breadburner]

****ing stupid......!!!

[kbsooner21]

A school system that already lacks funding for education is now spending on trying to get this to court. Makes sense...

[SoonerorLater]

So I take it that everybody feels we should not correct egregious errors if it is within our power to do so?

[badger]

I can see the sentiment is clearly in the "let it go" side, but if you need further reinforcement of this...

Fan's actions could leave Douglass football team ineligible for postseason play

Football official Chad Moyer alleges he was punched by a Douglass fan following the controversial finish to a Class 3A quarterfinal game against Locust Grove that has caught national attention.

So, they may be ineligible for postseason regardless of what the judge decides because they couldn't control their unruly fans after the disappointing ref call.

At least we just pelt refs with oranges when we don't like their calls

[SoonerorLater]

It's always easy to develop the just drop it, let it go attitude when it's somebody else that's being affected..

[jkjsooner]

So refs aren't human? This is a very silly move on Douglas' part. Replay's are fine but if you take the human element out of officiating the game then you've fundamentally changed the game.

Refs are human so bad calls are inevitable but saying it's "part of the game" puts it on equal footing as all other aspects of the game.

Well we didn't win this game because QB threw an interception. We didn't win that game because the official forgot how to enforce the rule.

These aren't the same. They're not even close to the same.

I don't want a football game where players never make mistakes. If it was possible to have a game where the officials never made mistakes we would all be better off.

That is my point.

[jkjsooner]

It's ridiculous. Yeah, they screwed up, and Douglas probably should have won, but you don't get do overs. Life isn't fair.

Now the playoffs are being delayed. I don't feel that bad for Locust Grove, as they were probably unfairly granted a victory, but I do feel bad for the other HS that is waiting around to play somebody.

Locust Grove should find some holding penalties earlier in the game that weren't called. I can almost guarantee you that somebody on Douglas could have been called for some kind of hold or illegal block on at least one of the scoring plays. Perhaps an O-line moved a split second early? It happens all the time. Move on.

You know that some missed holding call (which is entirely subjective to begin with) in the middle of the game is not the same as the official not enforcing the penalty correctly on a play at the end of the game that would have probably determined the outcome of the game.

I'm not saying the game should be replayed but I am calling B.S. on what you just said and I doubt that was the line you took when we got screwed in Oregon. Was some missed holding call early in that game the same as the official never actually trying to determine who recovered the onside kick (OU) nor correctly determining that Oregon touched the ball before 10 yards - calls that would have ended the game?

[badger]

It's always easy to develop the just drop it, let it go attitude when it's somebody else that's being affected..

I don't mind if they change the rules for next season. Take this incident and learn from it, but don't use the courts to sort out a high school football game, even a playoff game.

Locust Grove is unfairly being labeled the "bad guy" here, especially when the Douglass adults have set such a poor example for their students.

Alexander saying after the game that the officials and the OSSAA can “go to hell.”

As in, Douglass' head football coach Willis Alexander, who was also accused of instigating the crowd after the game, which he denied. To his credit, when OSSAA was considering whether or not he should be allowed to coach the rest of the postseason due to his postgame actions, he volunteered to sit out the rest of the season if it meant his players could play Locust Grove again.

[jkjsooner]

And since Oregon came up, a lot of criticism goes to the replay official for messing up the onside kick call but I think the worse call was the on-field officials never even making an attempt to determine who recovered that ball. They saw a pill up and immediately pointed Oregon's way. It just boggles my mind.

Had our guy (I believe it was Patrick) just picked the ball up and ran towards the goal line I wonder what the officials would have done. That would have made it clear their premature awarding of possession to Oregon was flat out wrong.

[jkjsooner]

I don't mind if they change the rules for next season. Take this incident and learn from it, but don't use the courts to sort out a high school football game, even a playoff game.

Locust Grove is unfairly being labeled the "bad guy" here, especially when the Douglass adults have set such a poor example for their students.



As in, Douglass' head football coach Willis Alexander, who was also accused of instigating the crowd after the game, which he denied. To his credit, when OSSAA was considering whether or not he should be allowed to coach the rest of the postseason due to his postgame actions, he volunteered to sit out the rest of the season if it meant his players could play Locust Grove again.

I'm confused. Rest of what postseason? If the OSSAA doesn't replay the ending of the game then there is no rest of postseason for Douglass or Alexander.

[Pride1Mom]

It was a HIGH SCHOOL football game. If you are waiting for life to be fair, you are going to have a very long wait. Our society is getting where EVERYTHING is about winning. There are always going to be times when life gives you disappointments. In the grand scheme of things, football games are supposed to be entertainment, and there are much more important things in life. I LOVE FOOTBALL!! I try to watch as much of it as I can get, but I know it is still a game to take us away from our daily worries.

[lexsooner]

I realize the OKC school system is arguing its case on the basis of the refs not knowing the rules, and supposedly not a bad judgment call on the field. However, there is no legal right at issue, so on what grounds would a court intervene? It seems absent an administrative remedy by the high school athletic organization, courts should stay out of this.