Team

LaBrae

Record	Div.	Conf.
3/5	Div. V	All-American Conference Blue Tier

Team

Mineral Ridge

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/4	Div. VII	Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference

By John Bassetti

By JOHN BASSETTI

bassetti@vindy.com

MINERAL RIDGE

Mineral Ridge football coach Joe Stevens finally got the satisfaction he felt the Rams deserved after a penalty was improperly enforced in Friday night’s 21-12 loss to LaBrae.

Although the infraction for holding in the fourth quarter was against LaBrae and in favor of his Rams, LaBrae was given a fresh four downs that enabled the Vikings to remain in possession of the ball.

At the time, LaBrae was leading, 14-12, before scoring an insurance TD and PAT.

Stevens and staff weren’t upset so much by the 10-yard distance marched off against LaBrae, but, rather, the first down awarded.

“They should have never been given that first down,” Stevens said Saturday, a day after he protested to officials during the game at Joe Lane Stadium.

The play in question came during LaBrae quarterback Carrington Herron’s 12-yard gain on 3rd-and-12 from LaBrae’s 40-yard line.

The gain may have been enough for a first down, but the holding penalty — which occurred roughly around midfield — should have negated the play and replayed third down starting 10 yards behind the spot of the foul.

When the penalty distance was administered, the ball was put in play at LaBrae’s 42.

However, LaBrae also got a fresh set of downs before starting the next play.

Matt Szorady picked up 33 yards and then caught an 11-yard pass from Herron to put LaBrae at Ridge’s 2-yard line before Szorady scored with 2:06 remaining.

“The original interpretation was that the result of the run would stand and then the penalty would be marked off from there [the end of the run],” Stevens said. “That meant the result of the run was a first down before the 10 yards were marked off.”

Stevens felt that a properly administered penalty would have given LaBrae 3rd-and-14 from about its 38.

“I knew it shouldn’t have been first down,” Stevens said. “What if someone scores a touchdown while a hold occurs? What do they do, award the touchdown, then mark off the yardage on the ensuing kickoff?”

The coach said he didn’t vehemently protest because it would have distracted his players.

“How would I get them focused back to the game? I tried to direct my concern to the official, but then I thought I’d better get the kids ready to play ball.”

Stevens said he first emailed the Ohio High School Athletic Association, then spoke to local officials who called the Mineral Ridge coach Saturday morning.

“They handled it professionally. I’m satisfied how they dealt with it and that they know, so it shouldn’t happen to anybody from here on out.”

Stevens didn’t blame the call for his team’s loss because he said the Rams still had a chance before the final TD.

“We always tell our kids not to leave the outcome in somebody else’s hands. We should have played better in the first place, so we learned something from it, too.”

Stevens said that the officiating crew that admitted its error will send letters to both schools.

“It doesn’t do much for us concerning the situation, but they admit they blew it,” Stevens said. “So we move on from there.”