HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — An assistant football coach at Mountain Vista High School has been suspended for his role in a sideline skirmish late in its win over Valor Christian Friday night, according to our media partners at The Denver Post.
People affiliated with both Highlands Ranch schools have reached out to Denver7 since the incident, so we went looking for answers.
Denver7 obtained two different angles of video showing the kerfuffle, which followed a game-sealing interception by Mountain Vista’s defense with about 30 seconds left in a 38-36 Mountain Vista win.
One of those videos, taken by a spectator in the stands behind the Mountain Vista sideline, appears to show at least one Valor player being shoved at the tail end of the scuffle.
A broadcast angle shows the play that led up to the brawl. After a Hail Mary heave by Valor quarterback Dawson Olk was intercepted, the defensive back returned the ball about 30 yards back upfield. As he appears to be sliding out of bounds, Valor running back Chase Hanosh delivered a big hit to his head and shoulder area.
Hanosh was flagged for a late hit on the play.
A chaotic scene ensued, in which several Valor players were mixed in with a crowd of Mountain Vista players. The broadcast footage doesn’t appear to show the physical altercation in question.
After a nearly four-minute stoppage of play, a referee announced that a Mountain Vista coach had been flagged for a “non-player foul” and ejected from the game for “hitting a player.”
Mountain Vista’s head coach, Garrett Looney, told The Denver Post that the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) had suspended assistant coach Dylan James for one game as a result of the incident.
CHSAA didn’t comment on the incident to Denver7, but referred us to its bylaws, which state that a coach who has been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct “shall be suspended from coaching for 10 percent of the season's regularly scheduled matches,” automatically placed on probation and required to take some behavioral training courses.
In a statement sent to Denver7 over the weekend, Valor Head of School Bryan Ritz called the coach’s behavior “unacceptable.”
“No coach or adult should ever put their hands on a student,” the statement read in part. “Our community expects and deserves better from those entrusted with mentoring young people.”
A Mountain Vista parent reached out to Denver7, saying the coach did nothing wrong.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office told us an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
If criminal charges aren’t filed, further discipline for the suspended coach would be decided by the athletic directors at Mountain Vista and the Douglas County School District, according to The Denver Post.
