honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, August 27, 2007

OIA promises punishment for 'Aiea, Campbell football

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

RECENT GAME-ENDING FIGHTS

Aug. 26, 2007,

Campbell at 'Aiea

Game was called with 57.3 seconds remaining after a fight erupted on the field and players rushed the field from both sidelines. 'Aiea was leading, 33-26, at the time but the final outcome won't be decided until today.

Oct. 28, 2005

Kailua at Wai'anae (OIA playoffs)

Wai'anae won, 14-10, when the game was called with 24 seconds remaining after tempers flared following a roughing-the-passer penalty. Kailua had the ball with first-and-10 on its own 19-yard line. About five minutes earlier, a fight between fans broke out near a stadium entrance, attracting a big crowd and causing the game to be delayed for about two minutes as police and security intervened.

Oct. 22, 2004

Nanakuli at Kailua (OIA playoffs)

On the game's final play — with Kailua taking a knee at the Nanakuli 24-yard line — a scuffle broke out at the line of scrimmage. It soon erupted into a benches-clearing brawl, with spectators running onto the field to join in the fracas. The teams were separated after about 90 seconds, but another fight between fans broke out in the parking lot 10 minutes after the game, and additional police cars arrived. Kailua won, 14-12.

Dec. 6, 2002

Castle vs. St. Louis at Aloha Stadium (state championship)

Game was called with 43 seconds remaining after players from both sidelines rush the field to join a fight following an unnecessary roughness penalty. Saint Louis won, 34-15.

Oct. 4, 2002

Pearl City at NanakulI

Game was called with 50 seconds remaining after Pearl City players rushed the field from the sidelines to join a fight following a fumble. Pearl City won, 28-14.

spacer spacer

A day after a benches-clearing fight suspended Saturday's O'ahu Interscholastic Association football game between 'Aiea and Campbell, the outcome remained unclear and the status of the teams' interleague games this week was undetermined.

"But definitely there will be sanctions," OIA executive director Dwight Toyama said last night. "We don't condone this kind of stuff."

The OIA's football committee will meet this morning to sort out the details of what happened, review film to determine which players should be ejected from the game, make a ruling on the game's outcome and discuss rule interpretations for a course of disciplinary action.

'Aiea was leading, 33-26, with 57.3 seconds remaining when most, if not all, of the players on both sidelines rushed the field during an on-field fight.

Under OIA and National Federation of State High School Associations rules, any player leaving the sidelines during an on-field fight is automatically ejected from the game.

And under OIA rules, any player ejected from a game also is ineligible for the following game. 'Aiea is scheduled to host Saint Louis Friday, and Campbell had been planning to travel to Kamehameha Saturday.

But Toyama said the committee needs to clarify whether that rule covers interleague games as well as league games.

'Aiea coach Wendell Say said yesterday his team's game film was not functional, and footage shown on NEWS-8 last night was inconclusive as far as how many players left the sidelines to join in the fight.

The OIA football committee also will determine the outcome of the game, in which 'Aiea led, 33-26, at the time it was called after the fight.

OIA officials commissioner Jim Beavers said he has submitted the 'Aiea-Campbell game report to league football coordinator Harold Tanaka.

In past games that were ended prematurely due to fights or safety reasons (see chart), the outcomes were virtually already decided and the scores stood. But in Saturday's case, 'Aiea was facing a fourth-and-14 on its 49-yard line.

"We probably would have punted," Say said.

On 'Aiea's previous punt, Campbell's Samson Anguay returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

"I've never had to deal with this (kind of situation) where the game was stopped after a crucial play," Tanaka said.

Don Botelho, the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's football coordinator who also sits on the National Federation rules committee, said the Federation has no specific guidelines for such a scenario.

"They usually make the state associations decide, but in our state we leave it up to the leagues," Botelho said. "That's (the OIA's) issue to determine."

Beavers, in his 36th season as a football official, said he has never seen a case like this one in which the game was called with the outcome still in the balance.

"The crew said it was a well-played game, and then suddenly it became a nightmare," Beavers said. "We're saddened for the game."

The incident was the fifth in the past five years in which a football game on O'ahu ended with a fight or was called prematurely due to safety issues.

Toyama said players should be instructed to stay off the field during altercations.

"We always say, 'Let the officials handle (what happens on) the field and let the coaches handle the sidelines,' " he said. Correction

Lahainaluna beat Waiakea, 48-0, Saturday. An incorrect score was published in yesterday's Advertiser.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.