Sportmanship--What can officials do?

[gsf23]

I’m sure most of you have heard of the running back from Matewan High who ran for 658 yards in a 64-0 win. Matewan was playing a team that hadn’t scored a TD against them in seven years and barely had enough players to field a team. During the second half, Matewan played their starters, ran a no-huddle offense and on defense refused to return punts, allowing the ball to roll backwards so that RB McCoy could have more yards to gain. It was a calculated effort to break the record.

Now, I have seen a few reporters who have commented on this story and have asked the question if the officials could have done anything to stop it. They point to Section 9, Article 3 of the NFHS rulebook. “Neither team shall commit any act, which in the opinion of the referee, tends to make a travesty of the game.” Violations for this can be “any penalty the referee considers equitable.”

Would any of you consider using this rule to do something in a situation like this?

“Records are sometimes worth pursuing, sportsmanship be damned.”
Yogi Kinder, Matewan High School Coach