Gazzolo column: Embarrassing night for all

Published 12:09 pm Sunday, November 24, 2024

It was a game that ended (but didn’t), a winning season that was (then wasn’t), and a year that felt like it would never end but finally did

The McNeese Cowboys started the season just before everybody else on the FCS level and ended just after everybody else.

Their 12-game season began on July 22nd in the heat of summer wearing shorts and helmets. It ended 125 days later last Saturday night in confusion, chaos and conflict. In between there was drama, intrigue and more conflict.

Never has a 6-6 season had more highs or more lows than the one the Cowboys just completed. And fewer have left us with more questions at the end than we had going in.

That is the state of McNeese football.

But what we witnessed on the turf of Cowboy Stadium Saturday was more embarrassment than anything else. Not for just McNeese but their opponents from Lamar and the officials who called the game.

With the stadium clocks out, the contest felt like it lasted forever. Or maybe we were all just getting sick of watching the mess being played out before us.

There were punches thrown, helmets ripped off, spitting, arguing and wild, graphic gestures between players from both sides.

Neither side’s coaching staff had much control of their teams as the combatants appeared more interested in taunting and fighting than blocking and tackling — the officials were no better. They lost control about the time the first huddle was broken.

We should’ve seen this coming before the game ever started. That’s when Lamar players taunted McNeese’s Mystery Rider and his horse as they passed by them on their way to the pregame ride.

There is no reason to point the finger at either team over the other, this was a total meltdown of sportsmanship from beginning to end, whenever that really was. After the game, groups of players came together to throw punches at midfield during a mid-level scuffle. We’ve seen worse, but that’s no excuse.

There was lots of blame to go around for this, starting with the officials who never had a handle on the action. Through all the mess, only one player was kicked out, that being Lamar quarterback Robert Coleman in the fourth quarter.

Maybe had they tossed a guy from each team in the first half things would’ve been different. There seemed to be more than a few candidates who’d earned such an ejection.

That’s not where it ends, though. At one point things got so confusing with the crew that it’s believed Lamar kicked a field goal in the third quarter on third down because they were told by officials it was fourth down.

Then there was the confusion when officials announced the game was over after an offensive pass interference penalty was called on Lamar. The team was trailing 24-20.

The head official stated the game was over (despite the Cardinal touchdown on the called-back play). McNeese players reacted and charged the field, and Lamar’s sideline went crazy. Helmets were thrown and arguments and confusion followed.

In the end, the officials got it right by the rules and added one untimed play and said all penalties after were forgiven since the game was over…only it wasn’t. McNeese was forced to go back on defense for one play, which gave the Cardinals an advantage.

The Cowboys were tasked with trying to regain their poise while the Cardinals had been given new life. They used it to score without penalty for a 26-24 walk-off victory.

No matter what your take on the outcome, the night was a black eye for all — from league offices down.

Maybe that’s a fitting end to a long season that seems to have left everybody feeling more than a little confused and embarrassed.

For that, there is enough blame to go around.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance sports writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. He can be reached at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com