LOUISVILLE, Ohio (AP) - Fans are unhappy that two northeast Ohio high school football players were penalized for a post-touchdown gesture honoring a friend who had died.
WJW-TV in Cleveland reports that the Louisville High School players were penalized for excessive celebration when they pointed their fingers to the sky after one made a touchdown. The touchdown came in Friday's 27-26 loss to Walsh Jesuit.
Louisville coach John DeMarco says the players learned only days before the game that the 16-year-old friend had been killed in a traffic accident.
An official with the Ohio High School Athletic Association tells WJW that the penalty is appropriate by the rules. He says any prolonged gesture by a player that draws attention to himself is a foul.
Fans say officials should have made an exception.
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