Helmet-swinging incident raises question: Is prep football getting more vicious? Watch videos

Mark Evans turned last week’s helmet-swinging incident in the Annville-Cleona vs. Hamburg football game into a positive.

Manheim Township’s coach used it as a teaching moment.

“Our theme for this week was self-control and keeping poise under pressure,” said Evans, who said he was in shock when he saw video of Hamburg’s Joey Cominsky ripping off Annville-Cleona’s Josh Hartman’s helmet and then taking multiple swings at Hartman with it last Friday night during a nonleague game in Annville.

So Evans sat his team down this week and talked about it openly, trying to make something good out of an otherwise ugly incident.

“We used it as a teaching tool to stress how important it is to keep your cool when you’re between the lines,” Evans said. “It’s all about keeping your composure and keeping your self-control. You have to know when to say when, get back in your huddle and then play between the whistles.”

Lebanon coach Gerry Yonchiuk said when he addresses his team in the locker room on Friday night before the Cedars’ game at Elco, he’ll also remind his kids about the incident — and to play the game the right way.

“We’ll definitely talk to our kids about it,” Yonchiuk said. “It’s a great teaching point for every coach in America.”

It’s just too bad the play in question escalated to the point where a lot of people around the country have seen it via video.

Hamburg was leading Annville-Cleona 22-10 in the third quarter last Friday when the skirmish broke out. Both teams were pushing and shoving. Flags were thrown. And then the helmet was snatched and swung.

If you've seen the video — which has gone viral — you know it was not pretty.

Cominsky and Annville-Cleona’s Taylor Prentice were ejected and will serve PIAA-imposed one-game suspensions on Friday; Cominsky will sit out Hamburg’s game vs. Northern Lebanon and Prentice will sit out the Little Dutchmen’s game against Schuylkill Valley.

Christopher Spohn, Hamburg’s principal, said this week that he could not discuss Cominsky’s eligibility after Week 3 because it would deal with student punishment, which he couldn’t comment about.

South Annville Township police chief Ben Sutcliffe said this week that his office is considering pressing charges, and could interview up to 100 people while investigating the case.

Annville-Cleona officials had no comment this week because the police are involved.

It’s been a pretty surreal week in these parts.

Lebanon senior QB-LB Mark Pyles talks about the Annville-Cleona vs. Hamburg incident, plus the state of today's prep football game:

Along with being a teaching tool, the play also raised an eyebrow or two about the state of the prep game.

Is it getting too vicious?

“Well,” Evans said, and then paused. “Hitting is still hitting. I can think back to 17 years ago (during his first season as Elco’s head coach) and a kid runs back after a kickoff and his facemask is all bent in. So the viciousness hasn’t changed. Football is still football. It’s a contact sport. Yes, the kids are bigger, faster and stronger. No doubt. But hitting is part of the game.”

You can’t go too many weeks during an NFL season without a player getting fined or suspended because of a vicious hit.

You might recognize the names James Harrison and Ndamukong Suh, for instance.

The penchant for big hits and flashy plays has trickled down to the college level. While it wasn’t an illegal hit, how many replays of Jadeveon Clowney’s helmet-dislodging tackle against Michigan have you seen?

“Millions and millions,” Manheim Central coach Mike Williams said, chuckling.

Today’s prep players look up to those guys.

And if you’ve been paying attention to the high school game the last several years, you’ve no doubt noticed that not only are the kids bigger and faster, but they hit a lot harder.

“Football is not a game for the timid, but it’s not too vicious,” Williams said. “It’s a physical game. There are vicious hits, which you make and you have to be prepared to take as well. It’s a man’s game, and we have boys playing it.”

What has Williams, in his 33^rd season as the Barons’ head coach, noticed most about how the prep game has changed in recent years?

“Speed,” he said quickly. “It’s unbelievable now — even at the high school level. The game has changed tremendously. You have kids now who are bigger, stronger and especially faster, and they’re watching these hits in the NFL. The kids see that stuff. But they also know that they can’t cross that line. High school is different. But it is a faster game today.”

Manheim Township senior RB-LB Matt Sallade talks about the Annville-Cleona vs. Hamburg incident, plus the state of today's prep football game:

Cocalico coach Dave Gingrich has seen the changes, too.

He and his staff try and offset today’s bigger hits by prepping their kids to play the right way — be it taking hits or dishing them out.

“I hold my breath every Friday night that both teams walk away safely because football can be a violent game,” Gingrich said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve been playing football for over 100 years, and we’ve all been teaching kids proper techniques to keep them safe. We want them to play hard. We want them to be physical. But we want them to be safe.”

“As long as you’re teaching good fundamentals,” Gingrich said, “I think the kids will play like they’re coached to do. Yeah, they see that stuff on TV. But instinctively, they’re going to play like they’re coached to play.”

“Football is still a collision sport,” Yonchiuk added. “You have to be aggressive and play smart and keep your head up and play the way you’re coached.”

Having top-shelf equipment also helps out at the prep level; Williams, Gingrich, Evans and Yonchiuk all whole-heartedly agreed on that point.

Today’s players are outfitted with top-of-line helmets and pads, from head to toe.

Manheim Township senior WR-LB Alex Zug talks about the Annville-Cleona vs. Hamburg incident, plus the state of today's prep football game:

At Manheim Township, Evans has his players and their parents inspect the helmet, read the warning labels on the inside and the outside of the helmet, and then sign a paper.

“Look how much the game has changed in the last 15 years just from an equipment standpoint,” Evans said. “Helmets. Managing concussions with baseline testing. Heat acclimation. It’s never been safer. And there are more rules now than ever to protect the players.”

And now, after the Annville-Cleona incident, you can bet coaches will be dialed in even closer to making sure their kids are playing the game the right way between the lines and between the whistles.

Read: No funny business. No showboating. No crazy hits. And especially no helmet swinging.

“We talk to our kids about keeping things under control,” Williams said. “Even if you take a swing at a kid, you’re going to get tossed out of the game and get suspended for the next game. So we’re cautious. To be honest, I think the kids know where the line is. If they kick somebody or hit somebody or do something intentional, they know they’re crossing it.”

“Where is the line?” Evans wondered. “You want to protect your players, but at the same time you don’t want to make this 2-hand touch. Baseball is America’s pastime. But football is America’s passion. A lot of that has to do with the gladiator mentality of the sport.”

There is a happy balance out there somewhere.

And after last week’s incident, hopefully more coaches can follow Evans' lead and turn the skirmish into a positive by using it as a teaching tool.

Because something like that simply can't happen again — anywhere.

Follow @JeffReinhart77