Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Basic, Canyon Springs penalized one game for brawl

Canyon and Basic Fight

L.E. Baskow

Basic and Canyon Springs players and coaches come to blows and police respond with pepper spray after the game, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017.

Canyon Springs-Basic ends in cloud of pepper spray

Canyon Springs head coach Gus McNair winces in pain from pepper spray to the face following a fight on field with Basic players and coaches after their game on Friday, September 15, 2017. Launch slideshow »

The Basic and Canyon Springs high school football teams won’t be permitted to participate in their Saturday contests as a penalty for the end-of-game brawl last Friday, it was announced today.

Canyon Springs won the game, 20-15, but the result will be changed to a double forfeit, said Donnie Nelson, the assistant director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.

When three or more members of a team engage in a physical altercation, the team is guilty of committing an unsportsmanlike act, Nelson said. Therefore, both teams won’t play Saturday.

“The NIAA is not the NFL, the NCAA or a club organization,” Nelson said. “Adults failed in their responsibility to enforce the rules and regulations of the NIAA and the mission of education based activities.”

The game was littered with unsportsmanlike penalties for pushing and shoving after the play on both sides throughout the game. It culminated on the game’s final play with a fight that ultimately broken up by Clark County School District police with pepper spray.

“This was a high school football game,” Nelson said. “A high school game is an extension of the classroom and regrettably the adults, based on their actions, fostered an environment that is not reflective of the mission of the NIAA member schools.”

Nelson said it would be up to Valley and Silverado, the opponents scheduled to face Basic and Canyon Springs, respectively, to coordinate if they want to play each other. If not, they will both be awarded forfeit wins.

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.