HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS : Westchester Barely Grounds Locke

One official raised his arms indicating a touchdown. Another crossed his arms indicating an incomplete pass.

Each team rushed the field believing it had won.

But moments later, the officials declared that Locke junior Sirr Parker had trapped the 39-yard pass from Akili Roberson on the end zone ground, giving Westchester a 13-12 victory in the City Section Division 4-A quarterfinals Wednesday night at Westchester.

“I caught it,” Parker said. “We’ve been playing against the refs all year. We don’t play teams, we play refs.”

About 100 fans from both schools ran on the field, confused about the outcome. As the referees’ decision became known, tensions ensued and police had to come between the teams and their fans. Westchester coaches ordered their players to the locker room.

Comet defensive back Shay Fields was guarding Parker on the final play.

“The ball was short and when he dove, he was too late,” said Fields, a junior. “I saw it hit the ground.”

The situation would never have occurred if the Comets hadn’t connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from quarterback Seka Edwards to wide receiver Tony Griffin with 1 minute 17 seconds remaining to tie the score. Senior Jaime Carcamo made the extra point for the 13-12 lead.

Westchester (11-1) will play host to Dorsey in a semifinal game Dec. 3. Locke finished 6-4-1.