Chaos invaded the soccer pitch Saturday at Bartlett High, where a bizarre series of events resulted in the abrupt and premature end of a crucial boys Cook Inlet Conference match between the host Golden Bears and the Service Cougars.
When the dust finally settled, coaches and school administrators were still shaking their heads and trying to figure out what to make of a messy situation that remains unresolved.
Things began to unravel late in the first half of a scoreless match between the third-place Golden Bears and fourth-place Cougars when Service goalie Caleb VanBlankenstein was whistled for fouling Bartlett's Ryan Reid inside the penalty box. The head referee gave VanBlankenstein a yellow card and awarded Bartlett a penalty kick.
In high school soccer, players who receive a yellow card must leave the pitch for a replacement before returning. As VanBlankenstein left the field in favor of temporary replacement keeper Jacob Andrews, Service head coach Dan Rufner and assistant Brian Waite continued to loudly argue with the referee, repeatedly asking for an explanation and protesting the decision.
At that point, the ref decided he'd had enough from both men, and gave Rufner and Waite straight red cards -- which come with automatic expulsions from the match.
Rufner continued to protest for about a minute longer.
"You can't have us both out!" he yelled. "You can't have us both off the pitch, there's no supervision for kids. You pick one or the other, you can't, you can't do it. It's an ASAA rule, you can't."
Apparently tired of hearing Rufner's loudly-stated opinions about what he could or could not do, the referee then blew his whistle three times to signify the match was over.
That's when things really got ugly. Andrews aggressively ran up to the referee before being pulled away by Rufner. After receiving a red card of his own, the senior tore off his jersey and yelled profanities before breaking down in tears. His Service teammates appeared stunned, as did their counterparts on the Bartlett sideline. The head referee and two linesmen retreated to the far side of the field, leaving the participants to stand around wondering what to do next.
"I've never seen anything like this," said Rufner, who has been the Service head coach since 2002.
The head referee refused to comment or give his name to reporters. He was later identified by Anchorage Soccer Referees Association president Terry Curran as Derek Newman, who Curran said is rated as a Level 6 referee by the United States Soccer Federation.
"He is the highest ranked referee in the state," Curran said.
Curran said the officials for Saturday's match were chosen specifically because it was crucial to the league standings.
"We tend to put the best crews we can on games we know will be important," he said.
Curran said Newman reported to him after the match. It was Curran's understanding that Rufner and Waite were given red cards for taunting. Curran backed up Newman's decision.
"Not being there I obviously can't say for sure, but if things went down the way he spoke to me, I would have done exactly the same thing," he said.
Curran said that once a player or coach is given a red card, they're supposed to leave the grounds. That didn't happen in this case.
"If you're dismissed as a player or coach you must leave the area," he said.
Rufner said he and Waite's protestations were only about the call against VanBlankenstein and didn't warrant a pair of red cards.
"That's all we wanted was to explain what the foul was," said Rufner, who pointed out that neither he nor Waite used profanity or threatened the referee before being thrown out.
Curran said coaches are supposed to set an example for their players by treating the referees with respect.
"They tell us in high school ball to have very little tolerance for dissenting language," he said.
Rufner said Andrews' actions toward Newman after the game was called were unwarranted, but that they were the reaction of an emotional player in the midst of a heated situation.
"He overreacted," he said.
After things settled down, players on both teams shook hands, with no one quite sure about what the decision meant for the conference standings.
Bartlett entered the game 6-3-1, four points ahead of Service (5-4-1) in the race for third place. That's a big deal, because only the top three teams in the conference advance to the state tournament.
Many players seemed to think the halted game meant Service lost by forfeit, and Bartlett midfielder Lorenzo Froehle consoled VanBlankenstein in the post game handshake line.
"That's not how we wanted this," he told the opposing goalie.
However, it was unclear in the immediate aftermath if the game will go down as a Bartlett win or some other result. Both Rufner and Bartlett head coach Matt Froehle said they don't know what will happen next.
Service girls soccer head coach Mark Cascolan -- a 1992 Bartlett graduate -- spoke with the head referee after the game. He said a report will be made to the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA), which will determine how to handle the complicated affair.
According to the rules, Cascolan said, his understanding is the game will have to be replayed in some fashion.
"We were looking over the rule book, since it was less than a half that was played, a replay is in order," he said.
Cascolan stressed that nothing has been decided, and that ASAA will have to rule on what to do about the abandoned match.
"After ASAA reads the report from the referees, they'll make that decision," he said.
Cascolan said the situation was a new one for just about everyone who witnessed it.
"This isn't common," he said.
Everyone agreed the outcome was unfortunate, and Curran said he trusts that ASAA will make the right decision.
"I'm sure they'll make a decision that's in the best interest of the players," he said.
GIRLS
South 6, East 0
First-place South continued to roll through the CIC on Saturday, improving to 11-1 in the girls standings with a 6-0 win over East at East.
Megan Currier had two goals for the Wolverines, who also got tallies from Sofia Velez, Abbie Osgood, Isabel Evans and Ally Ott. Jackie Burke posted the shutout.