A California high school football team that thrashed its overwhelmed rival 106-0 has been criticized by the losing coach for poor sportsmanship.
Inglewood High School, which has seven players being recruited by college programs, put up 59 points in just the first quarter against Monarch High on Friday night before piling on another 57 points.
‘It was a classless move,’ Morningside coach Brian Collins said on Saturday. ‘Go play St. John Bosco and Mater Dei,’ he added, referring to other California high schools that would make a formidable opposition.
‘I wouldn’t do that to any team – keep your quarterback commit to UCLA in until the end of the game, taking a chance with an injury,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t good sportsmanship.’
Scoreboard at football game where Inglewood High School beat Monarch High 106-0 shows a final score of 6-0 because it didn’t have space to show triple digits
Inglewood High football coach Mil’Von James, a former NFL player, has not commented on why he ran up the score
Collins was referring to Inglewood quarterback Justyn Martin, who threw 13 touchdowns, including a two-point conversion pass with a 104-0 lead, to rub salt in the wound of its city rival, located three miles away.
The team scored so many points that the scoreboard at El Camino College where the game was played did not have enough digits to display the score. Instead, the final on the board read 6-0.
ESPN touted Martin’s achievement against the lesser opponent with a tweet of the final score and a tip of the hat to Martin for throwing 13 TD passes, ‘the most a HS football game has seen in 100 years.’
However, famed ESPN commentator Dick Vitale quickly took the school to task and called for head coach Mil’Von James to be fired.
‘How can the coaching staff of Inglewood HS California feel good about themselves? They beat Morningside HD 106-0. Their Quarterback through [sic] 13 touchdowns and while up 104-0 they go for 2! Sickening and a disgrace to the title of coach. Congrats on teaching good sportsmanship. U should be fired!’ said Vitale.
James, 36 – a college standout at UNLV who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns in 2008 but never played an NFL game – has not commented on the controversy.
Members of the Monarch football team of Morningside HS are pictured earlier this month
Members of the Inglewood Sentinel football team with their coach, Mil’Von James, a former NFL player, are pictured last month during a training sessionr
Inglewood Morningside Monarchs were beaten 106-0 by rivals Inglewood High Sentinals on Friday
The school was criticized by the School District and then by others on social media
Inglewood quarterback Justyn Martin, pictured, threw 13 touchdowns, including a two-point conversion pass with a 104-0 lead
But others on Twitter did not hold back.
‘Just read about a Southern CA school winning a game 106-0, throwing 13 touchdown passes and going for 2 being up 100 points. We’re supposed to be teaching young men life lessons through the game. What message was this staff teaching last night? Sad,’ wrote Matt Poston.
‘Wow that is a crazy score. To win by 106. They should have called game after 1st 10 touchdowns. Shoot really after the first 5 touchdowns. Should out to Morningside for not quitting but dang Inglewood said hey brush no mercy Fam,’ wrote Coach Davis Sr.
The Inglewood Unified School District, which oversees both schools, also weighed in on the blowout, stating it was ‘saddened beyond words by the events’ in the game and is now promising a full investigation.
Some have suggested that the referee should have intervened earlier in the game and implemented the ‘mercy rule’ which would have ended the match earlier.
The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section has also reprimanded Inglewood for their lack of sportsmanship.
‘The CIF Southern Section expects that all athletic contests are to be conducted under the strictest code of good sportsmanship … a score of 106-0 does not represent these ideals.
‘The CIF-SS condemns, in the strongest terms, results such as these. It is our expectation that the Inglewood administration will work towards putting in place an action plan so that an event such as this does not repeat itself.’
Morningside’s season is now over at 2-8 while Inglewood who 8-0 are to play in the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs, reports USA Today.
The Inglewood Unified School District which oversees both schools also weighed in in the aftermath stating it was ‘saddened beyond words by the events’ in the game