WEST PALM BEACH — American Heritage-Delray has suspended two football coaches following a postgame confrontation between members of the Stallions coaching staff and officials after Friday night's overtime loss to King's Academy.
According to the East Coast Football Officials Association, multiple Heritage-Delray coaches approached the officiating crew as officials attempted to leave the field following the game.
The association said coaches verbally confronted officials, creating concern that the encounter could escalate physically.
"An unfortunate incident occurred last week at the American Heritage-Delray versus King's Academy varsity football contest, in which several members of the American Heritage-Delray coaching staff aggressively approached
the officials immediately after the contest and began to verbally berate them concerning the officiating," an ECFOA statement said.
"Of greater concern, the officials were fearful of being physically accosted by the American Heritage-Delray coaches, which was thankfully prevented by the quick conduct of King's security and local law enforcement present at the contest."
Jeffrey S. Geller, president of the ECFOA, said the association contacted both the Sunshine State Athletic Association and American Heritage-Delray to discuss what he described as appropriate remedial steps.
Geller also indicated the association had considered declining to work the Stallions' next game, scheduled for Oct. 2 against Somerset Canyons, if the matter was not addressed satisfactorily. That possibility was not included in the initial statement sent to media outlets.
As of Monday morning, Geller said he had spoken with American Heritage-Delray athletic director Kristina Shahin and Zachary Shank, director of athletics operations for the SSAA.
According to Geller, Shahin reviewed video and documentation provided by the association and described the coaches' actions as "appalling." American Heritage-Delray had not returned a request for comment as of 2 p.m.
"We got our white hat at the game to write up a report and we provided that to both the SSAA and the American Heritage school," Geller said. "We sent them a video and comments we had received from the athletic director at King's Academy because it was his security team that had to step in."
Geller said Heritage-Delray is proactively suspending two coaches involved in the incident, including one who appeared to impede the officials' path as they exited the field.
"We appreciate the school being proactive and taking our safety into consideration," Geller said. "We give our best to the student-athletes and member schools. We understand coaching staffs can get emotional during games, but officials should not have to face verbal or physical threats."
With the suspensions and apology from school administrators, Geller said the association has no concerns about officiating future American Heritage-Delray contests.
What led to the confrontation?
American Heritage-Delray appeared to have control of Friday night's game before penalties and turnovers helped King's Academy rally for an overtime victory.
The Stallions led by 10 points in the fourth quarter but were flagged repeatedly throughout the game. One sequence during a second-quarter scoring drive featured three consecutive penalties against Heritage-Delray, including one that erased a long completion from Marcus Stracke to Ty Caldwell.
In the second half, officials ruled that Johnathan Cesar touched a punt before it was recovered by King's Academy. Heritage-Delray's coaching staff disputed the call, arguing Cesar never touched the ball.
Later, officials ruled a fumble on a fourth-quarter play in which a Heritage-Delray ball carrier appeared to be down by contact. The turnover, recovered by James Powell III, helped set up the Lions' game-tying drive.
"Nobody's perfect," Heritage-Delray coach Jonathan King said after the game when asked about the officiating. "Everybody's human. People make mistakes. Referees make mistakes. We all live from it. It happens in college. It is what it is. We move on to another day."
After reviewing the confrontation on video, King acknowledged the optics of the incident.
"It's bad on video," King said. "I accept our mistakes and that we did things to lose the game. We will have that corrected."
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: American Heritage-Delray suspends 2 coaches after referee altercation
