Football: Lots of controversial calls

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Let’s just say that Week 3 was a difficult one for the officials.

Besides the controversy over whether to play an overtime period in the Temple City-Arcadia game, there was a call that severely hurt L.A. Jordan in its 23-20 loss to Santa Ana Mater Dei. De’Shawn Beck stripped the ball away from a Mater Dei carrier in the final two minutes and ran it in for a touchdown, but it was nullified by a clipping penalty.

Then there were the 17 penalties, including five for holding, called against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and only three penalties assessed against Birmingham by City Section officials in Notre Dame’s 45-14 victory.

Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney said after reviewing film that the Knights deserved to be called for holding, but he also believed Birmingham should have been assessed for similar violations.

In the end, Rooney said, ‘we need to be more disciplined.’

-- Eric Sondheimer