Charleston Daily Mail article

[Gottaluvit 10]

Charleston Daily Mail

 

A heartbreaker, and bad behavior

 

Here's to the Hancock school board

for addressing behavior at games

 

Monday December 06, 2004

With less than three minutes to play, fifth-ranked Weir High School had a seemingly insurmountable 14-0 lead in the Class AA semifinal game against top-ranked Bluefield.

To make matters worse for Bluefield, Weirton had possession of the ball deep in Bluefield territory.

 

Bluefield hadn't really managed to move the ball against the tough Weir defense all afternoon. The home crowd at Mitchell Stadium could only pray for a miracle. Or a boneheaded decision by the Weir coaching staff.

 

Which, incredibly, it got.

 

On fourth down and three from the Bluefield 32, Weir attempted a pass, which was intercepted and returned 75 yards for a touchdown. Bluefield then promptly recovered an onside kick and drove down the field to tie the game as time ran out.

 

Bluefield went up 21-14 in overtime. Weirton then scored a touchdown but failed to convert.

 

A 21-20 comeback victory for the annals propelled Bluefield into the state championship game.

 

It is somewhat understandable that a lot of people from the Northern Panhandle then lost their minds.

 

Some Weirton fans blamed coaches for calling the pass that led to the fateful interception, and an altercation broke out between fans and players. Bluefield police even detained Assistant Coach Joe Filberto.

 

Filberto and his father, Coach Tony Filberto, subsequently resigned.

 

The Hancock County Board of Education, heartbroken by the conduct that followed the game, weighed in as well. It announced plans for a zero-tolerance policy regarding the behavior of coaches, staff, fans and students. Violators would be suspended from participating in events, and fans could be banned from future activities.

 

"With what's happened to professional sports, and for this to happen to us, a small school," it's getting out of control, and the board has decided to take a strong stand . . . ," said Hancock Superintendent Dan Kaser.

 

That's a gutsy stand after such a debacle. It's the right call.

 

It's one thing to lose a game. It's quite another for players, coaches and fans to lose touch with the standards of behavior expected at high school football games.

 

Good for the school board, first for setting standards that everyone used to observe voluntarily, and second, for insisting upon a return to those days.