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Redeemer gets equipment through donation

Bad start dooms RailRiders in playoff opener

Officiating football can be a dangerous job. Officials have been knocked over by players on all levels &#8212; the NFL, college and even locally at the high school level.But what happened in Texas last Friday &#8212; where two high school players allegedly directed hits at an official &#8212; has Wyoming Valley Conference coaches wondering just what motivated such an act.&#8220;What&#8217;s going on in the minds of those kids to do something like that to somebody is such a venerable position?&#8221; Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said. &#8220;Your heart goes out to the referee. Regardless of what the situation was with those players and that ref, to do that is just an attack. It&#8217;s crazy to see anything like that.&#8221;The incident occurred during a game in San Antonio between John Jay High School and Marble Falls High School.Marble Falls had the ball at the John Jay 20-yard line on the play. One John Jay player was at the 5-yard line just to the left of the official, who was standing at the 12-yard line. The other player was at the 8-yard line to the official&#8217;s right.At the snap, a Marble Falls running back runs the ball into the middle of the line. The John Jay player at the 5-yard sprints directly at the official and knocks him to the field with a shoulder to the back. The other John Jay player then comes in from the right and lowers his helmet into the official.Neither John Jay player made any attempt to get to the ballcarrier nor was the official in their paths to the line of scrimmage.According to reports, the two players allege the official used racial slurs towards them and they were coaxed into some form of retaliation by John Jay assistant coach Mack Breed.Northside Independent School District suspended the two players from the team and school. Breed was placed on administrative leave. Criminal charges are possible.&#8220;I saw the video and haven&#8217;t read much about it,&#8221; Wyoming Valley West coach Pat Keating said. &#8220;It certainly looked deliberate on the film. Whether it was the kids or coaches, it was completely wrong. Those guys are out there trying to make things as fair as possible.&#8221;The coaching umbrella of Hazleton Area&#8217;s Mike Brennan extends farther than Gilsky&#8217;s or Keating&#8217;s. He coached Mount Carmel to two state championships and also had a stop at Blue Mountain, two schools south of the WVC&#8217;s territory. He has coached 15 years and 186 games.&#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen anything like it,&#8221; Brennan said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a lack of respect. Football is one of those games where you have respect for one another. Respect for the game, respect for the officials and coaches. It&#8217;s an embarrassment for the players and the school.&#8221;Gilsky said he heard stories dated long ago where a quarterback might have intentional throw a pass at an official for one reason or another. But those were just folklore.&#8220;It was such a gutless act coming from behind a person like that,&#8221; Gilsky said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the nature of some of these kids these day.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

WVC coaches appalled by actions of Texas players