Evening star., 1939-11-19
Team, Coach, Parent!
Hold One Triumph
sConcIusive
Lincoln Purkers Scott,
While Bnyh Calls for
PorIey Over PIoyoff
BY BURTON HAWKINS.

A sizzling squabble involving par
ents, players and coaches is threat
ening the scheduled playon for the
public high school football cham
pionship, it was learned yesterday.
Western supporters, or at least many
Of them, feel the Red Raiders
shouldn't be required to play East
ern, eastern division champion,
which it recently defeated, 1870.
Il think we're getting a. dirty
DEAL" said Coach Dan Ahern of
Western, land the boys and their
parents feel the same way. I've
had so phone calls today, and 1
guess our principal, Mr.. Newton, has
had as many. all protesting our
playing Eastern again. We beat
Eastern less than two weeks ago,
and I feel it's stupid to be forced
to do 1t again.
THE sporting thing for Eastern
to do, feel, is to concede the cham
pionship to us. When this system of
playoffs was arranged last spring
they couldn't foresee the possibility
OF situation like this. I think it's
going to be ridiculous If we have
to play Eastern again.
Kelley Sees 1t Differently.
Mike Kelley, Eastern coach, had a
different slant. Look" said Mike,
his Irish blood simmering at the
suggestion of canceling the play
on game, "our basket ball team
won six straight games to take the
round-robin series last year, but we
didn't claim that championship
when they chose the first four teams
for us to play in the playofIs. Sure.
we had beaten them, but we beat
EN- again in the playoff. It's the
same situation.
We played one of our worst
games Of the season when West
ern beat us, and I think we can
beat 'em this time. I'd much rather
play Western than Central. We're
due for good day. and 1 think it'll
be against Western. 1 lust called
our principal, Mr.. Hart, and he
laughed at the idea of calling of
the game.
"Confound it," continued Mike.
this series playoff thing was ar
ranged last year We won the east
ern division championship, and
Western won the western division
championship. and the rules saw
the winner of each division will meet
for the title. That's just what we're
going to do"
western Players Planned Petition.
JACK NeNam, crack guard and CAP
tain OF the Western eleven, admitted
members Of the team had been plan
ming to petition Principal Newton to
cancel the Eastern game, but only
because Western players felt they
rather would journey to Portsmouth,
Va, for a game with Wilson High.
Central. defeated by Western. 27-2l.
In the deciding game of the western
division title scrap. plans to fill that
engagement for Western.
That Western triumph over East
ern 10 days ago, incidentally, was
featured by wholesale fist fiinging in
the final 40 seconds of play, with
Jake Hilleary, Western quarterback.
and Tackle Bob Pieri of Eastern as
the principal participants.
Only the site of the playoff has
been settled, that having been shifted
from Griffith Stadium to Central
Stadium. Originally scheduled for
Thanksgiving morning president
Roosevelt's version) at 10 o'clock, the
date and time now is undecided.
Bayh Calls Meeting.
Kelley is holding out for a Friday
or Saturday game, but Ahern says,
If We have to play Eastern we're
going to play them when the game
was scheduled-Thursday morning."
Kelley isn't objecting too strenuously
to a Thanksgiving game, but will
protest playing in the morning.
Birch E. Bayh, director of public
school athletics, will hold a meeting
tomorrow to solve the situation,
which has arisen in the first year the
playof system, involving eastern and
western division competition, has
been in effect in football. Eastern
beat out Tech and Anacostia for the
eastern division crown, while West
ern spilled Roosevelt, Wilson, East
ern and Central to snatch. western
division honors.
Western is seeking its second grid
championship in the history of the
public school series, its 1905 team
having trimmed Central, Eastern,
Tech and Business (now Roosevelt)
to take the title that year. Eastern
also has won only one championship
in the last AZ years, its 1887 team
going undefeated in series compe-
tition.