DALLAS — South Oak Cliff High School officials are "considering filing a grievance" with the University Interscholastic League (UIL) over the officiating in the state championship game, which the Golden Bears lost to the Port Neches-Groves Indians, Dallas ISD officials confirmed to WFAA's Jonah Javad.
A pass interference penalty called late in the game led to the decisive PNG touchdown, en route to a 20-17 victory Saturday, blocking the Golden Bears path to a title three-peat. The penalty drew rampant criticism from the South Oak Cliff side.
Dallas ISD officials on Wednesday did not say when or if they would file a grievance, only that they were considering it.
UIL officials confirmed they have not received a grievance or protest from Dallas ISD over the issue.
However, the UIL in a statement noted that officiating crews are "agreed upon by both parties in advance of a game" and that a protest "based on a game or contest official's decision will not be considered," per UIL rules. In this case, UIL stated that prior to the game, both coaches came to a mutual agreement on the specific crew to cover their game.
In the event that coaches cannot come to an agreement, UIL will coordinate with the Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO) to make the assignment, selecting a crew from a chapter agreed upon by both schools that is neutral to both schools involved in the contest, UIL officials told WFAA in an email.
"Once a crew is selected or assigned, UIL sends the coaches the information for the officials which includes their names and assigned chapter. All officials are expected to adhere to TASO’s conflict of interest policy," UIL officials said in response to a follow-up email from WFAA.
WFAA's Mike Leslie broke down the play here, saying he initially thought it was a horrible call, but understood why the call was made after seeing all angles of the play, even though he would not call it himself.
As WFAA's Mike Leslie noted in his play breakdown, there was contact at the top of the route, based on the video and photo evidence. Where there could have been a judgement call, though, was whether the penalty thrown should have been pass interference or defensive holding, which is dependent on if the ball was in the air or not when the tug of the jersey occurred at the top of the route. The tug on the jersey seemed to happen simultaneously as the quarterback threw the ball.
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