Florida high school football coach pulls team off the field during SSAA playoff game

According to a story by the Palatka Daily News, Interlachen head coach Erik Gibson pulled his team off the field late in the fourth quarter due to three consecutive unsportsmanlike penalties

A high school football helmet sits on a field. /

In the heat of battle, tension can absolutely set in during a high school football game.

Especially when it's a playoff game and the contest officials are expected to make sure order is kept in line.

During a Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) Atlantic League postseason game between Interlachen and Bell, one of the team's head coaches decided that officiating wasn't doing their job in keeping the order between the players.

Per a story by Palatka Daily News' Corey Davis, Interlachen head coach Erik Gibson pulled his team off of the field with the Rams (4-8) trailing 21-7 with 2:47 remaining after his club was hit with three consecutive unsportsmanlike penalties.

Down 21-7 with 2:47 left, Interlachen coaches took their players off the field after three consecutive unsportsmanlike calls on the Rams. Bell (8-3) travels to Space Coast (8-3) next Friday for the Atlantic League consolation champ game. @BothSidesSports @Noah_ram1 @ridaught

— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2024

“At that point of the game, it was just one of those things where I felt like between our players and their players the ref let the game get out of hand,” Gibson said via the report. “By the second and third quarter they just let stuff keep sliding and to a boiling point and I was like, ‘I am just going to take my guys off the field because I don’t want anything stupid to happen.'"

According to Davis' report, Gibson went across the field to shake hands with Bell head coach Joey Whittington as time was winding down in the game.

Bell (8-3) advances to to go up against Space Coast (8-3) in a Atlantic League consolation championship game.

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