published: Friday, September 05, 2008

Game ends early after tiff with coaches

FRANK JOLLEY

Sports Editor

GROVELAND -- The best and worst of high school football was on display Friday when East Ridge and South Lake met for their annual preseason Kickoff Classic.

Fortunately, the best came out last.

East Ridge jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead, before South Lake responded with two scores in the opening two minutes of the third quarter. A potential classic finish was snuffed out, however, when Knights coach Bud O'Hara and Eagles coach Walter Banks got into a shoving match on the field, ending the game at the 6 minute, 15 second mark of the third quarter with the Knights holding a 20-14 advantage.

"It was a situation where two very competitive people let their emotions get the better of them," South Lake coach Walter Banks said. "Both of us made mistakes and we talked about it after the game and apologized to each other. As far as I'm concerned, it's over and done with."

The incident occurred without much notice after South Lake quarterback Dylan Fairbanks scored on a two-yard run following a short punt by East Ridge. Titus Mobley got the Eagles on the opening play of the second half by ripping off a 70-scoring run.

East Ridge countered Fairbanks' score by mounting a drive that moved inside South Lake's 30-yard line. On fourth down, officials called a timeout and both coaches came onto the field.

They exchanged words before shoving each other. Players and officials restrained the pair before the incident escalated.

Coaches from both teams reacted immediately and prevented any potential confrontations between the players.

Officials came together after order was restored and decided to stop the game at that point. South Lake went to its locker and East Ridge remained on the field until the stadium emptied.

Nearly 30 minutes after officials called the game, O'Hara and Banks met on the field. They talked and hugged each other before calling their teams together at midfield.

Banks apologized to the East Ridge players and O'Hara apologized to the South Lake players and the teams held a postgame prayer.

"I think it was very important that we got together after the game," Banks said. "It showed our kids that when you make a mistake, the right thing to do is apologize. I love Bud O'Hara and I love the East Ridge football program. They're a first-class operation.

"We started the game with a prayer and we ended it with a prayer. To me, it was important that we finished the game exactly how we started it."

O'Hara was visibly upset with himself after the incident and refused to comment. East Ridge athletic director Scott Wood and principal Aurelia Cole also declined to speak with reporters.

East Ridge got off to a quick start when Jeremy Wright sprinted 80 yards for the game's first score on the Knight's third play of the game. He finished with 183 yards rushing in the first half and had 227 yards on 10 carries when the game ended.

Quarterback Tyler Dye tossed a touchdown pass, a 60 yarder, to Rolando Carrero in the second quarter.

Mobley finished with 109 yards on eight carries.

East Ridge opens its regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday against South Sumter in Bushnell. South Lake also opens Friday at Inverness Citrus.

In other games Friday, First Academy of Leesburg blanked Lake Weir Vanguard 42-0 and Mount Dora beat Fruit Cove Creekside 25-20.