Florida high school football coach pulls team off field during playoff game

Tensions are high when it comes to the high school football playoffs around the country, and Florida is no exception.

Tempers flared on Saturday night in a Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) Atlantic League playoff game between Interlachen and Bell in a game that Bell was leading 21-7 late in the fourth quarter.

According to a story by Palatka Daily News’ Corey Davis, Interlachen head coach Erik Gibson then chose to pull his team off the field after three consecutive unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on his squad.

“At that point of the game, it was just one of those things where I felt like between our players and their players the ref let the game get out of hand,” Gibson told the newspaper. “By the second and third quarter they just let stuff keep sliding and to a boiling point and I was like, ‘I am just going to take my guys off the field because I don’t want anything stupid to happen.'”

According to the report, the two head coaches did still shake hands as time ran out.

Bell (8-3) advances to to go up against Space Coast (8-3) in the Atlantic League consolation championship game, while Interlachen (4-8) has seen its season come to an end.