Running up the score or just playing the game? By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island Let’s also give credit where credit is due. Duane Shimogawa TGI Sports Editor Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden once said that running
Running up the score or just playing the game?
By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island
Let’s also give credit where credit is due.
Duane Shimogawa TGI Sports Editor
Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden once said that running up the score on an opponent is something you have to do because your opponent would do the same to you. This conjecture came to play on Friday night at Vidinha Stadium, as the JV Kaua‘i High School Red Raider squad faced the JV Waimea High
School Menehune. It was evident from the midpoint of the second quarter that Kaua‘i had the game intact by the score of 21-0.
The Red Raiders have dominated the JV football scene all season long and this type of score was no surprise, as it was as predictable as Harold Naumu’s voice on the PA system at a KIF football game.
Obviously overmatched, the Menehune couldn’t really do anything about it.
At 28-0 with nine minutes to go in the third period, Waimea was able to put some points on the board, which would be the last score for them in the game. Then the Red Raiders poured it on like maple syrup on a short stack of pancakes.
The final score of 48-6 surely mirrored a blowout, but what happened at the end of the contest was nothing but a shameful act on the part of the Red Raiders.
In Kaua‘i’s defense, the Bobby Bowden quote should make a lot of sense, however calling timeouts and prolonging the game to run up the score on the Menehune wasn’t a class act.
In addition, the taunting upon scoring by the team should’ve been kept off the field. Certainly in high school football, there are no polls or BCS rankings, where the severity of the blowout matters.
Especially at the JV level, a training ground for the varsity ranks, the lack of sportsmanship by running up the score isn’t a good idea.
Let’s also give credit where credit is due.
The Red Raider JV football team without a doubt is one of the most dominating football squads that we’ve seen in a while.
Head coach Derek Borrero and his coaching staff have done a great job with this team.
Every game this year at the JV level involving the Red Raiders has been very decisive so far and to take anything away from their great season wouldn’t be right.
However, every great team has to learn how to be good sportsmen.
If the players learn anything at all from the the JV level, it should be more than just wins and losses, or not how many points you defeated your opponents by, instead it should be sportsmanship, teamwork, and developing skills both on and off the field.
The question that every coach faces during a game, especially towards the end, is to either let your starters just play the game all the way to the end and keep trying to score, or to unload your bench and give some experience to individuals who haven’t seen a lot of game time action?
Coaching isn’t an easy job and one of the hardest things to do as a coach is to please everyone. It’s nearly impossible, even if your team is winning, to keep the majority of people happy.
Sportsmanship though, is something that you can teach and it’s imperative for players to learn early the importance of it.
Seminole coach Bobby Bowden also said that all the favorite players he’s coached have three things in common: They play hard, they try their best, and they’re great sportsmen!
