PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Several players were ejected from a high school football game Monday after a scuffle broke out between West Boca Raton Community High School and Coral Springs High School.
"They played dirty a little bit," West Boca Raton player Chris Kelly said of his opponent.
Monday's game between the West Boca Raton Bulls and Coral Springs was chippy from the start. Kelly said that, by the fourth quarter, his team had had enough.
"One of the kids went to go tackle a kid around the neck, so one of my friends, Logan, pushed the kid," he said.
Logan was ejected from the game, but so was Kelly. The video shows that Kelly wasn't even in the area where the scuffle took place. His ejection is having a rippling effect on his athletics.
"I'm out the rest of the season here and then the two games of the basketball season," he said.
WPTV contacted the Florida High School Athletic Association about the ejections but did not receive a reply.
"The referees, to me, didn't handle the game as fairly as it needed to be handled," West Boca athletic director and coach Andrae Rowe said.
He understands the ejection of one of his players for pushing, but the ejection of Kelly, he said, makes no sense.
"It's unfortunate for him, but we are going through the appeals," Rowe said. "But, usually, with the appeal, it takes so long."
Ted Kelly said it's not cool that his son will miss the homecoming game and miss playing time.
"You never know when there's a scout out there, and he plays every position on the team," he said.
Because of his suspension, Chris Kelly can only hang with his teammates before games in the locker room. Once they hit the field, he has to sit in the stands and watch.
