WEED – The Etna Lions visited the Weed Cougars on Friday night. The Etna varsity won 44-6, and the Etna JVs won 14-6.

Weed scored on its first possession via a 6-yard run by Travis Andrews. The PAT was blocked by Lion Alex Case.

Etna took the lead on a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Jordan Pehle-Munson, and a PAT by Taylor Pehle-Munson, with 6:55 left in the first quarter. The Lions extended their lead to 14-6 early in the second quarter, when Lucas Case scored from four yards out. Jordan Pehle-Munson connected with twin Taylor Pehle-Munson for a 20-yard TD strike with 1:44 left in the half. Cougar Carlos Nava blocked the PAT, leaving Etna with a 20-6 halftime lead.

J. Munson picked up his second rushing TD at 7:29 in the third quarter and T. Munson added the PAT, making it 27-6.

Munson and Munson connected on a 17-yard pass play for a TD at the 5:19 mark of the third quarter, making it 34-6. T. Munson tacked on an 11-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, for a 37-6 Etna lead. The final score of the game came when Clint Eastlick picked off a pass with six seconds remaining and scooted 73 yards for a TD. The PAT made the final 44-6.

Etna improves to 3-1 in the Shasta Cascade League, and 7-2 overall. Weed drops to 1-3 in the SCL, and 1-8 overall. Etna will host Fall River (2-1, 6-2) next Friday, while Weed has a bye week.

Opinion by Ray Wolf

This article was a tough one for me. The game was full of unacceptable behavior, especially by several “adults.” Following the game, I told the principals from both schools that I wasn’t even going to put a story up on Siskiyou Youth. But, after sleeping on it, I decided that it wouldn’t be right to penalize the kids, who for the most part just wanted to play football.

I’m not going to take sides concerning the actions of the adults. In part, that’s because some of it is almost surely a matter of perspective, and I mostly saw it through the eyes of one sideline. What I will say is this: there are several adults that should be absolutely ashamed of how they acted.

The morning after the game, I called a coach that I respect both as a person and a leader. Although he didn’t exactly exonerate some of the adults on the other side, he did confirm what I felt was one of the main problems—lack of control by the officials.

My observation of Weed versus Etna games is that they are usually pretty “chippy.” In chippy games, the officials need to take control right from the start, control of both the players and the adults.

Taking control doesn’t mean penalizing a kid for complaining that his face mask was grabbed. That sends the message that you’re not going to protect the kids, and leads to them feeling that they need to handle it themselves.

Taking control means blowing the whistle when the play is over, and not allowing continued action. It means not allowing adults to scream at each other across the field. It means protecting the kids from injuries. The officials mostly failed to do these things, and the result was a spectacle that reflected badly on the teams and the sport.

I’m not going to go into further details on the officiating, but I am going to call on the white hat from the game to step down from officiating football and basketball.

Finally, here’s a thought for the young people that were playing the game or were in attendance. What you saw from some of the adults is not the way to act or handle adversity. It’s not that the adults aren’t good people. My experience with them tells me that they are good people, and are also dedicated to the well-being of their kids. In this case, however, the adults lost control, and didn’t act properly.

If you find yourself in the same type of situation, take the high road and avoid that type of behavior.