St. Genevieve to Review Tape of On-Field Fight

St. Genevieve High football Coach Mark Lovett and Principal Rudy Trujillo will review videotape today of last week’s game against Chaminade to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against players for their role in a fight during the game.

Both benches cleared and the game at Chaminade High was delayed for several minutes Friday night while coaches and officials struggled to restore order. The fourth-quarter brawl erupted after a St. Genevieve punt and with Chaminade leading, 45-0. Valiant defender Roel Navarro blindsided and leveled returner Felix Goodson after the whistle. Navarro was hit with an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. Goodson, who had called for a fair catch, was unhurt.

Brother William Campbell, Chaminade’s principal, said that his school is blameless and commended Coach Rich Lawson for his handling of the situation.

After reviewing the game tape, Lawson attempted to reach Lovett at home late Friday to request that Navarro be disciplined. As of Tuesday, the coaches had not spoken. Lovett said his videotape did not capture the infraction and that he will borrow Lawson’s copy today. Lovett said that although he does not condone illegal hits, he claims that Goodson regularly “taunts the opposition.”

Lawson disagreed.

“They’re saying that Felix pushed and shoved kids,” he said. “My response is that Felix is an aggressive football player but he doesn’t do anything malicious after the whistle to prove he’s some kind of headhunter. As soon as he stops playing football the way the game is to be played, he’s not going to be playing for me.”

Despite this incident of fighting--and two other recent run-ins involving the Valiants and Alemany--Lovett defended his team.

“We’ve been down for a couple of years and these things makes us look like we’re really a trash school, and we’re not,” he said. “There is a real bad feeling with the parents because they feel we’ve been taken advantage of. We feel like we’re getting stepped on.”