The athletic director and football coach at a high school in California have been suspended for the last two games after the team had an 84-0 win over an opponent Friday.
The Mercury News reported that the suspension for College Park football coach Travis Raciti and athletic director Jim Keck was handed down by Mt. Diablo Unified School District superintendent Dr. Adam Clark, who said he made the decision after reviewing the tape of the game and meeting with both principals in the schools.
Clark said College Park did not follow the "operating principles of pursuing victory with honor," as reported by Mercury News. Clark cited several excessive celebration penalties called against the Falcons as well as going for a 2-point conversion while ahead 47-0 midway through the second quarter.
“I don’t have a problem with a team being dominant,” Clark said. “But don’t go for a 2-point conversion when you’re ahead 47-0. Don’t get excessive celebration penalties. Where is the human side in all of this? You can run plays between the tackles. You don’t have to run screen passes. Winning should be done in a respectful way.”
The hefty punishment against College Park means Raciti won’t be in attendance for Friday’s senior night game against Mt. Diablo. He also won’t be on the sidelines next Friday when the Falcons conclude their regular season at rival Alhambra.
“This has been a nightmare,” Raciti said. “We have a 45-man roster, and we played every single one of those players.”
At one point in the second half, Raciti said he put a defensive back at defensive end, but the Ygnacio Valley coaching staff complained.
The Wolves (0-8) played with just 19 players, many of them freshmen.
Livermore coach John Wade, whose Cowboys beat College Park 35-8 this season, said, “It’s unfortunate this couldn’t have been used as a learning opportunity to mentor a young coach. Now he has to sit for two games.”
Clayton Valley coach Tim Murphy said the punishment should not have been so drastic.
“As long as you’re playing all your backups, you should not hold back,” Murphy said. “Those guys work hard all week in practice.”
Raciti said if the school district has a certain perception of how a game should be handled, someone should inform the athletic department.
“If you score 50 points and in the second half they want us to shut it down, let us know,” the coach said.
