published: Friday, September 05, 2008

FHSAA hands out penalties to Banks, O'Hara

FRANK JOLLEY
Sports Editor

When South Lake and East Ridge open their football seasons Friday, they will do so without their head coaches.

South Lake's Walter Banks and East Ridge's Bud O'Hara have been suspended for one game by the Florida High School Athletic Association for their actions during last week's Kickoff Classic at South Lake High School.

In addition to the suspension, Banks and O'Hara are banned from five successive practice sessions and were fined $250 and $400, respectively. They also are required to take a "Fundamentals of Coaching" class and will not be permitted to return to the sidelines until they complete that class, according to Cristina Alvarez, the FHSAA's director of medial relations. Alvarez said it is a one-session class and "easily" can be completed before South Lake and East Ridge play their second games of the season.

"This was completely unacceptable behavior and the FHSAA has always been aggressive in reacting to these situations," Alvarez said. "It's bad enough when players get involved in on-field altercations, but coaches are held in a different light. They are supposed to be role models for their players and do the right things. This was not the right thing to do and we will not condone it."

Banks and O'Hara said they will not appeal the punishment and began serving their suspensions from practice on Wednesday.

"I deserved to be punished for what I did," O'Hara said. "You have to be in control of yourself, as well as your team, and I lost control of myself out there. I hope this becomes something my kids can learn from.

"When you do something wrong, admit your mistake, ask for forgiveness and take your punishment like a man."

With 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the teams' preseason contest Friday, with East Ridge leading 20-14, the Knights had driven inside South Lake's 30-yard line and were looking at a fourth down and short-yardage situation.

East Ridge wanted to keep the drive alive by running an offensive play, contrary to the rules both coaches agreed to before the game, a common practice for many preseason games. Among those rules was an agreement that required a field goal attempt or a punt on any fourth-down play between the 20-yard lines.

After the decision was made to "go for it" on fourth down, officials stopped play, and Banks and O'Hara walked onto the field. Both coaches exchanged words and engaged in a brief shoving match.

Assistant coaches from both teams instinctively turned to their respective benches and restrained their players while officials quickly restored order on the field.

The game was halted while officials discussed how to handle the situation. After huddling for about 10 minutes, the decision was made to end the game and send both teams off the field. South Lake went to its locker room and East Ridge remained on the sidelines while the near-capacity crowd filed out of the facility.

Nearly 30 minutes after the incident, Banks and O'Hara met on the field to discuss what had happened. They apologized to each other and hugged before bringing their teams together at midfield.

Banks apologized to the East Ridge players and O'Hara apologized to South Lake before conducting a post-game prayer.

"It was important, after what happened, that we ended the game the same way we started it -- with a prayer," Banks said. "It was an ugly incident but I hope we showed our kids that when you make a mistake, the right thing to do is apologize. There were no hard feelings at the end of the night. I love Bud O'Hara and I love the East Ridge football program.

"They're a first-class operation, just like we are and the fact we were able to forgive each other shows the respect we have for the sport and both teams."

Lake County Athletic Director Vann Brackin said he is satisfied with the FHSAA's punishment and believes the confrontation was an one-time incident. Brackin said he has been in constant communication with the FHSAA and the principals at both schools since Friday's incident and has spoken with Banks and O'Hara.

Brackin said he does not intend to levy additional sanctions against Banks and O'Hara.

"They're very sorry about what happened and they still are good friends," Brackin said. "Both were wrong and they admitted that immediately and handled themselves in a very mature manner to keep things from escalating further. I am confident, especially after speaking with Coach Banks and Coach O'Hara, that this will not happen again.

Banks said Assistant Head Coach Chad Grabowski will lead the Eagles onto the field Friday at Inverness Citrus.

O'Hara said offensive coordinator Mark Woolum and defensive coordinator Seth O'Hara will share head coaching responsibilities when the Knights travel to Bushnell to play South Sumter.

The suspension is the first for Banks since taking over at South Lake prior to the 2007 season, although he was the school's girls basketball coach before becoming the Eagles' football coach. During his tenure as basketball coach, Banks was suspended by Brackin for conducting an illegal practice -- a session he ended as soon as he learned it was against the rules.

Banks said he will spend Friday in St. Cloud, watching the St. Cloud Harmony-Ocala Forest game. South Lake hosts Ocala Forest on Sept. 12.

O'Hara said he plans to stay home Friday and watch football on television with his bulldog.
"I can't remember the last time I was home on a Friday night during football season, so I don't know how it's going to feel," O'Hara said. "I don't have a choice, though. I made a big mistake and I have deal with the punishment that goes with that mistake."