UIL rules BC/HF game is final

[KFDM COOP]

UIL rules BC/HF game is final

Gabriel Pruett

The Orange Leader

BRIDGE CITY — It is a final, no matter how much Bridge City fans do not agree.

The UIL handed down the decision Monday that the Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns will be credited with a 14-11 win over the Cardinals after last Friday’s game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth due to rain.

Bridge City will head into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed out of District 21-3A with a 9-1 mark while Hamshire-Fannett is No. 2 with a 7-3 mark. The Orangefield Bobcats will enter the playoffs with a 6-4 district record as the third place team.

Mark Cousins, policy director at the UIL, said the UIL policy on completed games falls under rules set by the National Federation of High School Association.

“District policy cannot override the National Federation of State High School Associations rules and that is whose playing rules we follow,†Cousins said. “If the game was suspended under the circumstances you described, the game is over. National Federation rules prevail. Once a game reaches regulation status, it is a game.â€

Mike Gentry, the District 21-3A chairman, said parties involved in the game checked with the UIL and went with their rules.

“The UIL said we had to go with the National Federation rules,†Gentry said. “The games last week, it would not have made a difference in the standings. With the Orangefield/Silsbee game, Orangefield was up anyway. I am only glad we got it right and everybody is on board. The teams involved can now move on and represent District 21-3A in an efficient way.â€

Bridge City Athletic Director Cris Stump said the Cardinals still have the option to appeal the UIL decision yet will not drag the process out any longer.

“We have said lets move on and that is where we are at,†Stump said. “Another part is the umpires called the game, they did not suspend it. That was another nail in the coffin. We as a district need to look at this and spell it out clearly. Those games last week really clouded this situation. It worked out to where in the best interest of all involved, we did what we did.â€

Stump said some of the problem becomes the wording in the rules which deals with if a game is called suspended or if the game is called complete.

Walt Mangan, Hamshire-Fannett athletic director, said he took no pride or pleasure the Longhorns won the game this way and was only pleased the right call was made.

“I only wanted to make sure we got it right,†Mangan said. “This was too big for us. The UIL states if the game goes five innings, the game is final. It should have been dealt with last week. If this would have been the other way around and we were losing after five innings, I would not be arguing any different. There was a rule written and I wanted to make sure we followed it.â€

Mangan said the rules describing suspended games were misinterpreted last week when several games were picked up on last Monday due to bad weather.

“It became a difficult thing once you misinterpret something and you do things one way one week and another way the next week,†Mangan added.

The game not only put a loss on the Cardinals because the end result also decided where the Orangefield Bobcats will be placed in the playoff bracket.

If the game had been finished and Bridge City was to come back and win, the Bobcats and Longhorns would have been tied for second place.

Orangefield coach Jeff Bennett said he is not bitter towards either side and is now only worried about his team and their route through the post-season.

“My personal opinion is the game should have been finished,†Bennett said. “The only problem I had was I did not want to have to wait until Thursday or Friday to find out where our team stood in the bracket. I am glad I now know today where I’m at.â€

[HORNSFAN86]

Well the truth is out, looks like the HF AD is not the Dumb_ _ _ he was made out to be. This man has been bashed and ridiculed beyond belief. That is what is wrong with our society we are quick condemn people before we have all of the facts. I think some of the poster's and moderators owe this man a sincere apology.

[Bobcat1]

I think a message board is the least of any coaches worries, or it should.  If he doesn't like it, coaching probably wasn't the best profession to get into.

Funny this thread has been viewed 200+ times and no one posted anything until now.  Maybe because everyone is OVER it.  I suggest you get over it too.  :

[HORNSFAN86]

I think a message board is the least of any coaches worries, or it should.  If he doesn't like it, coaching probably wasn't the best profession to get into.

Funny this thread has been viewed 200+ times and no one posted anything until now.  Maybe because everyone is OVER it.  I suggest you get over it too.  :

I am just taking up for the man. I would hope you would do the same if the roles were reversed.

[Bobcat1]

Taking up for him?  He is a grown man.

I wouldn't have to be taking up for him, our AD wouldn't have went to UIL it would have finished...Kinda like how they finished the Orangefield/Silsbee game.

[HORNSFAN86]

Taking up for him?  He is a grown man.

I wouldn't have to be taking up for him, our AD wouldn't have went to UIL it would have finished...Kinda like how they finished the Orangefield/Silsbee game.

The man was just following the rules. Sounds like you are the one that needs to get over it.

[Bobcat1]

: I'm over it...You're the one who opened it BACK up. 

[westend1]

I'm with longhorn on this one.  Lot's of posters jumped on the AD without knowing the rules, and I haven't seen many apologies for that.  Hard to believe he is the only one(along with the umps) that knew the rules.

[Gametime23]

I have read all of this stuff just to see what was going to happen with this game. It is senseless that people did bash the guy and in the long run he was right and nothing could be done bc the game was called not suspended. The OF/Silsbee game may have been suspended which puts you in a spot you can resume it. I am a fan of neiher team just baseball and try to keep up with it regularly. I would have liked to see the game continue but once the umpires called it and did not suspend it, the game was over and complete. It is not either sides fault. If ne one is at fault it is mother nature. Bobcat you sound bitter at HF because your seeding, calm down a bit you guys are not in a horrible situation you are still in the playoffs.

[Bobcat1]

Not bitter at all, I like our chances being opposite Tayor.  BC is a really good team, but if HF can beat them in 5, I think OF can beat them in 7  , its also hard to beat a team 3 times in one year, but we shall see. 

[Critter]

Is this going to be another 16 page thread???? Lock it out so we don't start it up again....

[HFfan2009]

reguardless you have to play a powerhouse either HF second round if they get past tarkington its number 5 Taylor or OF beats liberty gets BC next so either way your playing a powerhouse early in the playoffs

[Bobcat1]

reguardless you have to play a powerhouse either HF second round if they get past tarkington its number 5 Taylor or OF beats liberty gets BC next so either way your playing a powerhouse early in the playoffs

Excatly!  + Karma for you.

[AggiesAreWe]

I think what's being lost in the discussion is the principle. To me, if you have set a precedent of playing a district game under one set of rules, albeit, misinterpreted the first time, you should still honor that way of playing with the rest of the games to keep an order of how all the district games are played.

I myself questioned that the rule was being misinterpreted when they played those suspended games a couple of weeks ago. I have never heard of a game that had completed 5 innings with one team in the lead, having to complete that game at a later date. I knew that was National Federation rules that the UIL uses. I even questioned some of the 21-3A baseball coaches themselves and I got conflicting reports with some saying that 21-3A had their own policy on such matters.

All in all, everything worked out even if the rule was used properly in the earlier games. But, the fact still remains that this district needs to understand the rules better than they have exhibited. IMO, the easiest thing to do is just go by the Federation rules and leave these self-district policies to the 4A districts. ;D

[24 over par]

I think what's being lost in the discussion is the principle. To me, if you have set a precedent of playing a district game under one set of rules, albeit, misinterpreted the first time, you should still honor that way of playing with the rest of the games to keep an order of how all the district games are played.

I myself questioned that the rule was being misinterpreted when they played those suspended games a couple of weeks ago. I have never heard of a game that had completed 5 innings with one team in the lead, having to complete that game at a later date. I knew that was National Federation rules that the UIL uses. I even questioned some of the 21-3A baseball coaches themselves and I got conflicting reports with some saying that 21-3A had their own policy on such matters.

All in all, everything worked out even if the rule was used properly in the earlier games. But, the fact still remains that this district needs to understand the rules better than they have exhibited. IMO, the easiest thing to do is just go by the Federation rules and leave these self-district policies to the 4A districts. ;D

i aggree the district rules only complicated things

[Gabe]

The media didn't.......nevermind :D