Hurdling penalty in high school football might need to be re-evaluated

Anyone who saw or heard last Friday’s regional final contest between the Corbin Redhounds and Boyle County Rebels was treated to a game for the ages.

All eyes were on this matchup leading up to kickoff, and rightfully so. What we saw was quite possibly the two best teams in the state going at it in the third round of the playoffs. It’s kind of a shame, really, but it’s just the way that things worked out.

The action on the field certainly lived up to the hype, with both teams giving it absolutely everything they had to get the win and move on to the state tournament semifinals. In the end, it was the defending state champion Rebels who were able to walk away victorious, 21-14, but if not for a few penalties during the course of the game, the outcome could have been very different.

Before I proceed, let me just say that this is not sour grapes. If you watched or heard the game, then you will know the specific calls that I am about to discuss. While there were other costly penalties committed by Corbin that didn’t do them any favors, the three personal foul calls for hurdling certainly stand out the most.

Of the three, it was the last one, when Cam Estep was flagged late in the fourth quarter as the Redhounds were within striking distance of tying the game, or possibly taking the lead, that hurt the most. All of the hurdling calls put the team in a tough spot, but that one in particular was just a dagger to the heart. There is no arguing that it had a huge bearing on the ultimate outcome of the game, which is very unfortunate.

Give Boyle County a lot of credit. They showed their athleticism and their toughness against a very, very good Corbin team. The Hounds also greatly impressed, but the fact of the matter is they had a few chances that they were simply unable to capitalize on. For this reason, they fell short of their goal. Still, one can’t help but wonder “what if” when it comes to the untimely hurdling call(s).

The officials called it correctly. Let me just be clear about that. All three occasions definitely did look like hurdling from where I was standing on the sideline, but my question is… does this really need to be a penalty?

Although it’s not super-common, I have seen it before, and I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s kind of a dumb rule. I mean, it’s football. What are you supposed to do if you have guys running in and diving at your legs? Just let them take you out, or jump to hopefully avoid a painful injury?

I suppose I can understand why the rule is in place. I can see why we would want to discourage a player wearing cleats from jumping up and potentially coming down on a body part of an opposing player. That would not be good, but again, this is football. Guys are getting accidentally stepped on and kicked pretty much every game, right? That’s just kind of part of the risk with a full-contact sport.

I would be curious to know how many times in the recent past that severe injuries have occurred because of hurdling in football games. Would it be enough to warrant keeping this rule in the books? I kind of doubt it, but maybe I’m wrong.

All I’m saying is this: I am certainly not in favor of guys going out onto the football field and taking unnecessary risks with their health or the health of their fellow players, but I am also not in favor of penalizing a player for making an athletic move to avoid an injury. We don’t need to be TRYING to jump over people just for the fun of it, but if it does happen, I’m just going to assume that there was probably a pretty good reason for it. Like not having your knees and/or shins destroyed, for example.

I say this rule should be re-evaluated moving forward, but that’s just one man’s opinion.

• Apparently, after the conclusion of last Friday night’s game, Corbin coach Jim Black had a little scare with some chest pain. According to what I have heard, he was able to get treated right away, which might have saved his life. It sounds like doctors were able to find the problem and address it quickly, meaning Coach Black is going to be okay.

This is great news, and I would like to join all of the other well-wishers in the community in letting him know that I’m glad things were not any worse. All the best to him and his family.

• In some non-football related news, my family and I had the chance to check out this year’s Christmas Open House event in downtown Corbin on Sunday. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Frosty the Snowman probably would not have been a fan of the warmer temperatures, but I sure was!

Anytime a downtown event is being planned, weather is always a concern. If it turns cold, or if heavy rains move in, then it can really have a negative effect on turnout. Sunday was perfect, though, and I was glad to see so many folks coming out to take advantage of everything going on. There was a petting zoo, train rides, face painting, special photo ops, some live music, and of course, Santa Claus himself was there to accept letters and meet with admirers of all ages.

We took the time to visit many of the downtown businesses that were open for the event, which included retail stores, restaurants and specialty shops. It really was a great afternoon, and it helped us all to get into the Christmas spirit.