Sports

California Football Coach Blames Rogue Staffer After Controversial Decision To Exploit Rule Incited Near-Brawl

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A penalty flag on the football field.

iStockphoto


A high school football brawl nearly erupted near the end of a matchup between Sierra Canyon and Serra this past weekend in California. The two sides had to be separated after benches cleared in a 30-0 Sierra Canyon victory.

The head coaches for each team have since responded publicly to the controversy that incited the bad behavior. Serra’s coach, Scott Altenberg, blamed a rogue staff member for playing a role in the spat.

The argument stemmed from the supposed exploitation of a high school football rule. Sierra Canyon’s offensive attack was slowed numerous times by Serra injuries.

The legitimacy of those injuries was called into question. Sierra Canyon believed it to be a calculated attempt to throw off its rhythm.

Tempers flared in California high school football action.

Viewers cited at least 16 instances in which Serra players went down with cramps. Many resulted in lengthy stoppages, which eventually angered the opposing coaching staff.

Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse didn’t believe the setbacks were legitimate. Instead, he thought his counterpart was using fake cramping to influence the outcome.

In response, he directed his offense to mock Serra.

Ten of the 11 offensive players fell to the ground with fake injuries before an offensive snap. It was a clear shot at Altenberg’s bunch.

The Serra coach staff erupted on the sidelines. Benches cleared.

Penalties were called on both sides. Altenberg denied faking injuries after the game while Ellinghouse apologized for his petty response.

On Sunday, both coaches spoke further on the situation.

Serra’s football coach blamed a rogue coach.

Both Altenberg and Ellinghouse spoke with Tarek Fattel of Sports Illustrated. Each provided their perspective on the California high school football controversy.

Altenberg went first, doubling down on his denial in the cramping controversy.

“Myself and my program are being unfairly characterized in this whole situation,” he said. “It was a difficult night for us… We knew going in that we were a very inexperienced team… Lots of injuries going in… A lot of guys having to play two-way…

“We’re being accused of unfairly gaming the system with cramps… My intent is to never do anything outside the rules.”

Altenberg blamed the cramping on a thin roster already decimated by injury. He says those instances were 100% real. Many were forced to play on both sides of the ball, including some that were unable to condition in the week leading up to the game due to previous setbacks.

He did, however, accept some blame for his staff’s actions. The coach noted that an assistant coach directed a player to fake a cramp on one occasion.

“We did have a young coach who mentioned – I found this out at halftime, and we talked about it – that he had said that in college that the kids go down and they cramp and all that,” Altenberg explained. “That is not something I’ve ever taught. It happened one time in this game. It looked bad… It was wrong.”

He admitted to fake cramping on a single occasion. Sierra Canyon would likely disagree.

“What they were doing was working,” said Trailblazers coach Jon Ellinghouse. “It was keeping my team from having the success I thought we could have…

“In the first quarter, on a 60-degree day, they started to get cramps. The cramps came when we knew they were out of timeouts and, tactically, we have a tempo that we call ‘Rocket,’ which means we want to run the ball as fast as we can… That started very early, and it always happened right after we got a positive gain… and it always happened on defense.

“There were multiple stoppages in high leverage situations.”

In the end, it wouldn’t impact the final result. Sierra Canyon beat Serra 30-0 with a strong second half performance.

We’ll see if the issues persist for Serra in the weeks to follow.