Larry Brown Sports

After the Class 5A Division II high school state championship game between Spring Dekaney and Steele on Dec. 17, 2011, Dekaney coach Willie Amendola was one of several people who were struck with a golf cart. Many of you have probably seen the video clip at some point, which showed a scary moment featuring an unmanned cart that somehow got loose and appeared to have a mind of its own.

According to MySanAntonio.com, Amendola and his wife Valarie have now filed a lawsuit against Cowboys Stadium, which is where the game was held. The couple is seeking more than $1 million in damages. The lawsuit can be read here.

All indications were that there were no serious injuries when the incident took place. Amendola, who is the father of New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, seemed to be in good spirits and even made a sarcastic comment about it.

“Did you guys get that? Wonder what the UIL is going to do about that?” he asked the Express-News at the time.

Apparently things got worse as time went on, because the lawsuit Amendola filed claims the incident caused physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity and loss of enjoyment. The video went viral and has been popular over the past year or so, which Amendola and his wife say “caused great personal embarrassment.” It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Compared to some of the more elaborate and flamboyant touchdown celebrations we are used to seeing across the NFL, Cam Newton’s “Superman” routine is relatively mild. However, it is apparently considered excessive at the high school level. So excessive, in fact, that a player who mimicked it was recently ejected from a game.

According to the Charlotte Observer, West Mecklenburg quarterback Jalan McClendon was tossed from his team’s 45-10 victory last Friday night after he scored a touchdown and imitated Newton by pretending to expose the Superman “S” on his chest. Fortunately for West Mecklenburg he was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct and not taunting, which would have led to an automatic two-game suspension.

“It’s a good learning experience for him,” West Mecklenburg coach Jeff Caldwell said of McClendon. “With him being in the position he’s in, he should know better. He’s a young kid. My kids have never been in a situation like this before. I’m just happy for Jalan and that it came out all right.

“I’m glad he wasn’t severely punished for something where he was just having fun. He’s not the taunting type. At Tennessee (team camp) this summer, they were always asking ‘Why don’t you get excited?’”

McClendon has been cleared to play this Friday, which is huge for the team since it is the second round of the playoffs. Caldwell said the junior has scholarship offers from North Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke, so obviously he is an exceptional talent. It’s a bit surprising that McClendon was ejected immediately for the celebration rather than flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the message was sent quite clearly — touchdown celebrations won’t be tolerated by the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

H/T The Big Lead

Rapper Flo Rida recently decided he wanted to give back to the high school he graduated from, Miami-Carol City High in Florida, and it appears he is doing so in the form of football uniforms. But not just any football uniforms — some of the ugliest, loudest, most visually violent football uniforms you will ever lay eyes on.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Miami-Carol High is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year. There’s no better way to acknowledge a milestone than by burning the retinas of your opponents. The uniforms were designed by an apparel company called Futuristic Woo. If these are uniforms of the future, I better start loading up on aspirin.

And people thought these Baylor uniforms were bright?

H/T Off the Bench

In Kentucky, mascots are more than just people dressed in animal suits that entertain an audience. They’re heros. When Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School opened its football season earlier this year, junior Trent Bauer served as the teams Bulldog mascot. He began wearing the costume last winter during basketball season, and his duties carried over into the fall. Last Thursday, Bauer led the Bulldogs to a 21-19 comeback victory as the team’s quarterback.

Wearing jersey No. 12, Bauer threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to lead Dunbar to an upset win over Henry Clay — a team that had beaten Dunbar 11 straight times.

“It’s amazing,” Bauer told The Lexington Herald-Leader. “I didn’t think this would ever happen in my lifetime.”

Bauer connected with receiver Emory Thompson for a game-winning 50-yard touchdown with only eight seconds remaining. Thompson had previously been the team’s quarterback out of necessity, but his natural position is wide receiver.

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Americus-Sumter High School in Georgia fired football coach Michael Pollock earlier this week after he had served a nearly month-long suspension. Pollock had been suspended indefinitely after a Sept. 14 incident where he allegedly kicked a player in the backside during a practice. Instead of continuing his suspension without pay, the Sumter County Board of Education voted to terminate Pollock’s contract.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, offensive coordinator Chris Wade took over following Pollock’s suspension and has led the team to wins in each of its three games, raising their overall record to 4-1.

Pollock, who led Americus-Sumter to its only two winning seasons in school history, has not yet commented on his dismissal but he did have the following to say back in September when he was suspended.

“I just feel bad for the kids, the distraction all this has caused,” he told the Albany Herald. “But they’ve handled it well these last couple of weeks, and I expect they’ll continue to handle it well. So far, though, they’ve done an outstanding job of maintaining their poise and focus. …

“I’ll be at home, listening on the radio, getting updates — just like I was two weeks ago, and just like I was last Friday. I feel like these kids are mine, like we’ve grown up together. I think the world of them. I just want them to be successful.”

Many coaches are guilty of saying things they regret in the heat of the moment, but you don’t touch the players — especially when dealing with minors. Incidents like this one where coaches make physical contact with young players have become far too common. Termination was the only option for Pollock.

On Oct. 3, two days before St. Clairsville High School (Ohio) defeated Edison, St. Clairsville freshman Logan Thompson tragically lost his father, Paul, to an unexpected stroke. In order to help him honor his father, Thompson’s St. Clairsville teammates were determined to make Oct. 5 the night he scored his first touchdown. They accomplished their goal.

Prior to the game, St. Clairsville coach Brett McLean got together with his team — unbeknownst to Thompson — and instructed anyone who had a clear path to the end zone to step out at the one-yard line. Michigan recruit Michael Ferns followed the instructions when he broke a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“When I saw Mike break away down the sideline I just started yelling for Logan,” McLean told USA TODAY High School Sports. “He was surprised because he – like everyone else – figured Mike would just run it on in. Logan didn’t know anything about what we were doing.”

The officials were also baffled by the play, and they signaled touchdown despite the fact that Ferns stepped out. The play was overturned after the St. Clairsville coaches and players emphatically protested the call, and in came Thompson to turn his first ever high school carry into his first career touchdown.

“Mike ran up to Logan and gave him a big hug,” McLean explained. “It was emotional for everyone. Last Friday was something that touched the whole team. Logan was going through so much and for a few minutes we helped him get his mind off of things. It honored his dad. It was just an awesome moment.”

The gesture appears to have meant a lot to Thompson, who paid tribute to his father on Twitter after the game and said he knew “the old man was watching.” Like the story of this unforgettable free throw or this amazing touchdown run, moments like the one St. Clairsville made happen remind us that football is sometimes more than just a game. In this instance, it was an opportunity for Thompson’s extended family to help him heal.

H/T The Big Lead
Photo via @M_Ferns10

A high school football game between San Bernardino High and Palm Desert High got out of hand in more ways than just the scoreboard last Friday night. With Palm Desert leading 45-6 in a completely one-sided game, the San Bernardino quarterback was tackled in front of Palm Desert’s bench. This prompted a San Bernardino player to push a Palm Desert player from behind, and things escalated from there.

According to CBS Los Angeles, a bench-clearing brawl broke out between the two teams.

“All we know is that he got tackled,” San Bernardino coach Jeff Imbriani explained. “He got grabbed in the private. He got up, kinda shoved the guy off like ‘What are you doing?’ And then he swung. The guy swung and then (it was) all melee from there.”

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