onside kicks

[iamsteven]

hi. ok, my school just had a game in which was very close. We were down 38-34 with 56 seconds left so we were forced to onside kick the ball. we kicked it and recovered it. but the officials rule that their team was offsides after we had gained possession of the ball. my question is are we allowed to decline the penalty or not? because they would not allow us to decline the penalty and as a result we lost a playoff game.