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Tigers hang on for first win
Viking too much for NHS
Sharks swim to season finale in Springfield
Panthers end season with losses to Perrydale,
WVC
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OBCS forfeit nearly KO's Watchmen |
Open Bible has to forfeit a 21-point win which then
nearly derails the playoff hopes of C.S. Lewis Academy |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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One local basketball team’s
forfeit of a game this week caused quite a stir in the Casco League
South.
On Tuesday the C.S. Lewis Academy boys basketball team needed Open
Bible Christian School to pull out a win by three points or more
over visiting Perrydale. A OBCS win would set up a showdown between
Perrydale and C.S. Lewis Friday for the fourth spot in the district
playoffs. When Open Bible won 61-40 C.S. Lewis assumed it would mean
a matchup with Perrydale. That was what they thought, anyway.
Prior to the game, OBCS and Perrydale’s junior varsity teams faced
off for two 10-minute quarters. The only problem was that according
to the National Federal of State High School Association, high
school teams in the United States are allowed to play in quarters no
longer than eight minutes. The 20 minutes the teams played
constituted two halves.
So when Open Bible guard Darrick Swartout, who played both quarters
in the JV game, was substituted into the varsity game in the third
quarter, he had exceeded the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA)
rule that states no player can play more than five quarters in a
day. In the end Open Bible self-reported its violation to the OSAA
and forfeited the win.
“That was illegal and I didn’t know that,” said Open Bible athletic
director Liz Dante. “I think it’s a lesson learned. What can I do? I
had no idea that that kind of stuff was that important.”
According to Perrydale athletic director Chris Gubrud, Dante did
have an idea.
“There’s only one person who should have known the rules and that’s
the athletic director,” Gubrud said.
According to Gubrud, Perrydale coach Terry Newton and assistant
coach Dan Dugan came to the scorer’s table and advised Dante that
10-minute quarters weren’t allowed. Gubrud said Dante told Newton
and Dugan that “they had done it before.” The officials officiating
the game signed the score book, validating what happened.
Open Bible coach Todd Woods, unaware that quarters cannot be longer
than eight minutes, said he approached the Perrydale junior varsity
coach and asked if the teams could play 10-minute quarters. The
junior varsity coach allowed it and then both got it OK’d by the
officials.
“After the first 10 minutes, (Newton) comes down and says, ‘I
didn’t know we were playing 10-minute quarters. That’s going to get
some of my varsity guys in jeopardy,’” Wood said.
Woods continued that the officials told Newton that they were
going to go ahead and play the 10-minute quarters because of the
previous agreement.
“Then (Newton) said, ’Ok, no problem. Let’s play,’” Woods said.
The junior varsity game concluded, followed by the 21-point win by
the Open Bible varsity team, which was already locked into the No. 2
playoff position. That’s when things changed, Woods said, and Newton
contested the quarter limitations by the Open Bible players.
“That’s where my issue was,” Woods said. “It didn’t matter to us
because we were going to be second no matter what. They knew they
got beat on the court (21 points), but what mattered to me was that
(Newton) went back on his word. He said, ‘Ok, let’s play,’ and then
after the game, he decided to gripe about it. That bothers me.”
Woods wasn’t the only one bothered about the game. The game also
effectively ended the playoff hopes of C.S. Lewis. Watchmen coach
Bruce Toney said he was happy when he initially found out the
Panthers won, but then later was upset when he heard of the Open
Bible forfeiture.
“The thing that upsets us was that (Dante) was told twice (by
Newton and Dugan) that it wasn’t legal,” Toney said Thursday
morning.
C.S. Lewis athletic director Chris Guastaferro said when he was
informed of the Open Bible forfeit, “it was a huge shock.” But what
was more shocking to Guastaferro was that Dante was told twice not
to allow the 10-minute quarters.
“That’s the unfortunate thing I’m scratching my head at,” he said.
“We’re human and we make mistakes and sometimes the rulings can be
fuzzy. We have to keep that in consideration.”
Cindy Simmons, OSAA assistant executive director, said the Open
Bible forfeiture was “a very clear cut issue.”
“You never have the option to put more than eight minutes on the
clock,” she said. “When that happened, that’s a violation right
there. The result of that is that there was a violation in the
varsity game and it’s really important for people to understand the
rule.”
Simmons was careful not to place blame.
“I’m not going to point a finger at one person,” she said. “The
issue isn’t who made the mistake — it’s the mistake.”
As frustrated as the mistake made Toney, there was still an option
to allow the Watchmen to face the Pirates Friday with district
playoff implications on the line. On Thursday afternoon, all of the
athletic directors in the league agreed to keep the Open Bible
forfeiture intact, but decided that if C.S. Lewis was to defeat
Perrydale by five points or more, the Pirates would relinquish the
playoff spot to the Watchmen.
“It’s a pretty good compromise,” said Belynda Griffin, Casco League
president.
Gubrud said gaining the playoff berth via a forfeit is something
Perrydale didn’t want.
“We absolutely do not want to be in a situation where we want to
make the playoffs this way,” he said.
For the Watchmen, the news was a sigh of relief.
“All we wanted to do was give our kids a chance,” Toney said. “I’m
just happy for the kids that they’re going to get the opportunity to
play for something. That’s all we wanted.”
Toney said he was happy, yet surprised things worked out the way
they did.
“I really didn’t know if the league would oversee this,” Toney
said. “I was a little skeptical if our league would overstep the
ruling.”
Woods, who found out Thursday night of the ruling, said he was
happy with the outcome.
“That’s the way it should be,” he said. “That’s the way it was
going to be.”
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From
Feb. 12, 2005, Newberg Graphic
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