During last week’s matchup against the Chanhassen Storm, Jacob Pung ‘23 had an unsportsmanlike conduct call placed upon him after spiking the ball. For reference, an unsportsmanlike conduct call is made when a player says or does an uncalled for action. This includes, but is not limited to, heckling individuals on the field, faking an injury, or excessively celebrating after a significant play. Something unique to the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is that spiking the ball is not allowed during a game. This call occurred after Pung caught what was thought to be the catch of the game for the Stars. Since they were down 21-14, the plan was to collect a touchdown and then immediately go for the two point conversion afterwards. I spoke with two players on the team, AJ Boarman ‘23 and Jake Zitek ‘24, to gather some information from the play and its aftermath:

1. As we all know, an unsportsmanlike conduct call was called during one of the final plays of the game. Now, looking at it after the game, would you say the right call was made? If not, why? 

Boarman: I feel as if the ref made the incorrect call. The ref made a call that decided the game which I feel is not right. Instead, I feel that he should have given him a warning instead.

Zitek: No, We were down and we just scored making it a very close game now leading to the tie or win. It’s a very exciting moment that you would want to celebrate which the ref didn’t agree with.

2. If that call was never made, do you think the team would have still gone for the two-point conversion? Why?

Boarman: Yes, we planned on going for 2 no matter what

3. It seemed as if your squad had been trying to play catch-up the whole game. Would you say that losing this game has somewhat stalled the team’s momentum and lowered its overall morale, or has it only strengthened your team’s bond and belief in each other? 

Boarman: No. That is one of the top teams in [class] 5A. It is a game that battle tests us, and gets [us] ready for sections/state. 

Zitek: I would say it strengthened our bond because [Chanhassen] is a very good disciplined team which truly challenged us because we are a smaller school that is ranked lower. That didn’t stop us though, we battled by giving our all which brought us closer together and brought us closer to the win but still fell short.

Though this call brought the AHA football team a tough loss, it brought some much welcomed comradery throughout the team. This loss allowed the football team to develop great chemistry which allowed them to become Suburban District Red Champions, Section Champions, and most importantly, state tournament participants.