Only 22 minutes of football was played between Tempe and Saguaro Friday, but that was more than enough for the Buffaloes on this night.
The team chose not to come out of the locker room for the second half of a 31-0 forfeit loss to the third-ranked Sabercats at Saguaro.
Three severe injuries to Tempe players is what set off the Tempe coaching staff, according to Saguaro coach Jason Mohns.
The first injury occurred in the first quarter, when Tempe wide receiver Massiah Smith had to be helped off the field after being hurt following a catch.
Early in the second, with the score 18-0, Tempe quarterback Emanuel Gant was hit by two Saguaro players, one of whom was called for a personal foul for grabbing Gant's facemask. Gant remained down on the field and was attended to by trainers for nearly 30 minutes. An ambulance arrived and he was taken out of the stadium, his neck stabilized as a precautionary measure.
Mohns acknowledged the play was a penalty, but said there was no ill intent behind it.
"Our kids aren't trying to hurt anybody," he said. "(Tempe's coaches) kind of reacted like we were trying to go after (Gant). The Tempe coaches felt that whatever we were doing wasn't the right thing. All I know is I can look our (athletic director) and our principal, and I can look our kids in the eye and know that we're not coaching kids that way."
A few minutes after play resumed, Jordan Wiatr also had to be looked at by trainers after he was hit while returning a kickoff. While Wiatr was on the ground, Tempe coach Brian Walker ran across the field in the direction of the Saguaro sideline. Walker was stopped before he reached the opposing sideline, but was ejected from the game for his actions.
Wiatr was carted off the field, but remained seated on the sideline for the remainder of the game.
After play resumed, Tempe was forced to punt from its own 1-yard line with 1:33 remaining in the half. On the punt, junior Terry'on Wycoff went down away from the ball and also needed medical attention. A second ambulance came to Saguaro and took Wycoff off the field.
After five minutes of deliberation, the referees sent the teams to their respective locker rooms, ending the first half early.
Tempe refused to come back onto the field and instead boarded its buses and left halfway through the 15-minute break.
"All we can control is our team and what we do," Mohns said. "We're going to watch film; if we have kids that did anything that's deemed dirty or cheap, then those kids will be disciplined because that's not the program we are. We're not out here trying to hurt anybody and I hope that's not the message that Tempe left with."
Even before the injuries slowed and eventually stopped play, the game was constantly interrupted by penalties. Tempe (2-1) lost 82 yards on 12 penalties, while Saguaro (2-1) was flagged 14 times for 123 yards.
Offensively, Saguaro looked better than it had all season with exceptional performances by quarterback Luke Rubenzer and wide receiver Christian Kirk. Rubenzer completed 10-of-11 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. Kirk had 84 yards receiving on three catches, two of which went for touchdowns. It was Kirk's first game of the year after missing the first two with a concussion. He also had an interception he returned for 35 yards.
Saguaro 31, Tempe 0
Tempe: 0 0 -- 0
Saguaro: 12 19 -- 31
S: Kash Robinson 12 run (PAT no good)
S: Seth Seminara 20 pass from Rubenzer (PAT no good)
S: Kash Robinson 8 pass from Rubenzer (PAT no good)
S: Christian Kirk 18 pass from Rubenzer (PAT no good)
S: Christian Kirk 52 pass from Rubenzer
First Downs: Tempe 8; Saguaro 9
Rushes-Yards: Tempe 12-21; Saguaro 13-77
Passing Yards: Tempe 201; Saguaro 225
Comp-Att-Int: Tempe 11-24-1; Saguaro 10-11-0
Fumbles-Lost: Tempe 4-0; Saguaro 2-0
Penalties-Yards: Tempe 12-82; Saguaro 14-123
WhoMe---Not posted at 5:38 am on Sat, Sep 8, 2012.
"Our kids aren't trying to hurt anybody," he said. "(Tempe’s coaches) kind of reacted like we were trying to go after (Gant).
Um, maybe because you were trying to hurt Tempe’s players coach. You sent two to the hospital and three more to the sidelines. In my 22 years of experience in football, I know this is not normal and is a deliberate. Coach Mohn’s I really do hope you look at the tape and see the actions of your team as it is a direct representation to yourself and the school as a whole. A penalty here and there is understandable part of the game, but unsportsmanlike conduct is not.
You know the game is bad when the officials send the teams to the locker room early.
AZ101 posted at 7:02 am on Sat, Sep 8, 2012.
It looks to me like the penalties were pretty even for both teams. Saguaro was the better team with more athletic players and Tempe high couldn't compete at ths level, there coaches over reacted. I thought it showed no class and poor sportsmanship to quit during the game.
Unknownnn posted at 9:19 am on Sat, Sep 8, 2012.
If you think tempe didn't have the skill your mistaken. Saguaro was hitting people late and after whistles , they were leading with there head down, and grabbing for face masks! I don't about you but thats not football thats blatantly tried to hurt kids don't be mistaken by the coaches lies. I bet next week the same kids are going to play and nothing is going to happen to them.
Kriley824 posted at 10:01 am on Sat, Sep 8, 2012.
Does anyone know how the injured boys are? Plus, who is Walker? (I'm not familiar with either school so don't know and it wasn't made clear in the article. )
Unknownnn posted at 10:31 am on Sat, Sep 8, 2012.
Massiah Smith #1 has bruised ribs , jordan waiter #4 has a minor concussion, Emanuel Gant #10 is ok , and terryon Wycoff #5 is unknown he went in and to a cat scan and a MRI. Walker is the head coach of the Buffaloes.
Moralec61 posted at 11:11 am on Sat, Sep 8, 2012.
Wow ! Tempe/Saguaro rivalry goes back pretty far. Kinda took over when Mcclintock went to 5A in the 90's Maybe one sided rivalry I don't know but they were always on our list when we played them.
Not surprised at the dirty play either. Don't know if the same coaches are there at Saguaro as back when I played but they seemed to toe the line of dirty play more so than any other team we played.
If there were dirty hits I hope they will be reviewed and disciplinary actions taken. If nothing else awareness of how they have been playing for as long as I can remember.
In this day and age with all the high profile football injuries and news stories in the NFL and the awareness of long term damage the game could do to a young man's body I hope that they will start cracking down on unacceptable or borderline hits. Pull that flag out on questionable hits! They've been doing it in the NFL so there is no reason we can't be doing it in high school to protect our children and future leaders. Safety First!!
mheller posted at 11:17 pm on Sun, Sep 9, 2012.
Apologies for the weird format issue and not being more clear that Brian Walker is Tempe's coach. They've been fixed. Carry on.
wangly posted at 7:27 pm on Fri, Nov 9, 2012.
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