One coach saw dirty play. The other saw nothing wrong. Though the Ketchikan High School and Thunder Mountain High School football teams hold different opinions of what happened at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, one thing is clear: two young men ended up in the hospital and the Friday night lights dimmed after only 19 minutes of play.<\/p>\n
Ketchikan forfeited the conference matchup over safety concerns after two players were hospitalized with injuries, ending the game in the second quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe walked off that football field for the safety of our players,\u201d Ketchikan coach Jim Byron said. \u201cI don\u2019t agree with the way they were coached, the way they played. It\u2019s dirty, it\u2019s illegal, and I am just not going to have anybody else get hurt because of unfair play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Ketchikan players were injured on the same play. With 7:58 left in the second quarter, Thunder Mountain running back Roy Tupou tore through Ketchikan\u2019s defense on a 36 yard touchdown run. No flags were thrown on the play but in Tupou\u2019s wake three Kings players laid on the turf, one slow to get up and two barely moving. Senior cornerback Trevor Brock was stretchered off the field and taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital; senior free safety Nico DeGuzman was also taken to Bartlett.<\/p>\n
One player was diagnosed with back spasms and the other a concussion, according to Ketchikan coaches. A Bartlett spokesperson said they released both players to their primary care physicians at 10 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n
Play resumed after 20 minutes and players from both teams seemed heated, arguing and shoving after plays were blown dead. Tensions between the teams built until two minutes later, when referees sidelined both teams and gathered around Byron.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to express that calls need to be made. \u2026 It wasn\u2019t a bad conversation,\u201d Byron said. \u201cThere was no argument, I was simply trying to protect my guys. I mean, guys are getting injured because there are no fouls being called, no flags being thrown with illegal hits taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n
After talking with the refs, Ketchikan promptly packed their gear and left the field. Referees also left the game immediately, one saying the game was ended for safety concerns. None of the referees issued comments while leaving the field.<\/p>\n
Thunder Mountain coach Randy Quinto was bewildered by Ketchikan\u2019s abrupt exit. What he saw on the field couldn\u2019t have differed more from Byron\u2019s version.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I feel right now, it\u2019s kind of a weird, weird feeling. I have never been a part of something like this,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously my first concern is for their players and how they\u2019re doing. We didn\u2019t see anything that bothered us. When their guys were down on the field, we were just making sure we kept it down and be classy about it. It could be one of our guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinto, though concerned for Kayhi\u2019s players, didn\u2019t see anything wrong with his team\u2019s play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s football, both teams played hard. \u2026 There were no personal fouls called, no unsportsmanlike conduct calls, and, you know, even on that play with the three guys down, there were no flags. Last play on kickoff, there were two great hits. Legal hits. It\u2019s football, it\u2019s a contact sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Play had been stopped for injuries four times previous to the play that brought DeGuzman and Brock down. Falcons players had been injured during the course of the game in addition to Kings players. The Alaska School Activities Association couldn\u2019t be reached for comment in time for this story, but if any violations of sportsmanship happened between the two teams, the ASAA handbook dictates that \u201cthe Association will determine appropriate penalties and whether or not the student, coach or school will be suspended or barred from future contests or events.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were no personal fouls called in the 19 minutes of play. Quinto thinks Ketchikan has unfairly pegged the Falcons as a dirty team. After facing the Kings last year, Quinto said Ketchikan accused the Falcons of playing dirty.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year they had accused us of being dirty once again. We showed them tape and we didn\u2019t feel there was anything, so I don\u2019t know if there are preconceived notions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Byron was disappointed to have ended the game early, saying that he \u201chates to call it a forfeit because our guys aren\u2019t quitters.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like we competed, we have a good football team. We were already short a couple guys when we came up here and we felt like we could still compete and we did, but like I said I wasn\u2019t happy with the level of play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Though in a wider sense there was no clear winner Friday night, the forfeit will go in Thunder Mountain\u2019s win column. When the game was called, the Falcons had a 21-0 lead with five minutes left in the second quarter.<\/p>\n
Thunder Mountain will travel to Ketchikan for a Sept. 23 game against the Kings. Tending an \u201cemotional and fired up\u201d Kings team after the game, Byron said he looked forward to hosting the Falcons in three weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying down there it is going to be a different ball game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Sports and Outdoors reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or <\/span>kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Read more news:<\/strong><\/p>\n This misleading photo spread in Marie Claire shows Mendenhall Glacier completely gone<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Haa shuk\u00e1: Tlingit language apps connect past, present and future<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n