Gilmer High has submitted an “unsatisfactory officiating report” to the Georgia High School Association following last Friday’s football game against the North Hall Trojans.
The report is accompanied by video clips from Friday’s game, which GHS athletic director Matt Johnson referred to as a “comedy of errors.”
Over the course of the game, GHS was flagged nine times for 115 yards. Until North Hall purposely incurred a pair of delays late in the fourth quarter, the Trojans were flagged three times for 30 yards.
“Looking at film, there were blatant missed calls that were very concerning,” Johnson said. “One of their players basically threw a punch, and on another play he slung one of our players to the ground by the neck. We had a penalty called against us in which they were actually holding.
“There was a pass interference call against us, and there was no contact between the players. We had an unsportsmanlike conduct called against us after one of their players flopped to the ground who may have been touched by a pinky. The ref saw him lying on the ground but never saw what happened.”
The referees and GHS head coach Kevin Saunders had a contentious relationship almost immediately.
A line judge flagged Saunders for sideline interference in the first quarter, which occurs when a coach or player is in the restricted area. A warning is issued after the first occurrence if there is no contact with the referee.
After the flag, Saunders beckoned the head referee to voice his displeasure. In the second half, Saunders was flagged twice more for sideline interference. Gilmer was docked 5 and 15 yards, respectively.
On a 14-yard completion to Will Kiker late in the third quarter, he was hit near Gilmer’s sideline, driven out of bounds and flags flew. However, GHS was the one penalized for a late hit, which drew Saunders’ ire.
His ensuing protest resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in addition to the Bobcats’ personal foul.
“They drove us out of bounds and the kid kept driving and driving,” Johnson noted. “The flag comes out, and we thought they finally got the late hit, but it turns out they called it against us and said we pushed their player. There was no video evidence of that.”
The GHSA prohibits coaches from commenting on officiating, and Saunders reserved comment when asked about the referees after the game.
“I commend coach Saunders for stepping up for our players Friday night,” Johnson said. “He definitely did that and I stand by him for that.”