A Southern California high school principal apologized this week for a lack of sportsmanship and integrity following a lopsided game Friday between two schools in Inglewood.
Inglewood High School was up 59-0 after the first quarter against Morningside High School on its way to a blowout 106-0 victory. Inglewood, whose UCLA-bound quarterback passed for 13 touchdowns in the game, also went for a 2-point conversion with a 104-0 lead.
Criticism from the school district followed, including a vow to investigate what transpired.
In a statement issued Monday, Inglewood Principal Debbie Tate apologized. She said Inglewood coach Mil’Von James also apologized to Morningside.
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“We did not conduct ourselves with sportsmanship and integrity and the final score was unacceptable,” Tate said in her statement. “Our administration and coaching staff believe that athletics should be a source of pride for our community. While Friday’s game did not reflect our best judgement as administrators, the Morningside High School and Inglewood High School football players, and their coaches have worked hard all season and deserve our respect.”
The statement went on to say administrators will work with coaches to prevent mistakes from being repeated.
Morningside's coach called the performance “classless,” adding that the opponent refused to allow a running clock following a decisive first quarter, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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Inglewood (9-0) begins the Souther Section Division 2 playoffs Friday against Ventura St. Bonaventure at Ventura College. Morningside HS is 2-8 this season.
In the previous meeting between the two teams in 2019, Inglewood racked up a 48-0 win. Morningside defeated the Sentinels, 20-7, in 2018.
The 13 touchdown passes are the second-most in a single high school game, according to MaxPreps. The record of 15 was set in Nebraska in 1921.
