By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Mike Chastain said he hoped for a clarification, an explanation, an admission perhaps the chance to resume play at a certain point, something.

It appears he’ll get none of the above.

GHSA executive director Robin Hines said Thursday afternoon that all is said and done regarding Bainbridge’s 47-41 three-overtime win over Warner Robins Tuesday in an epic GHSA Class 5A state title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Chastain has been roasted in social media and elsewhere for how things transpired in the second overtime.

The Demons got a 20-yard field goal from Samariy Howard, but Bainbridge’s Randy Fillingame crashed into the kicker and upended him after the successful kick. The penalty was a roughing the kicker, which is an automatic first down – in Georgia and elsewhere, overtime or not – and either 15 yards or half the distance to the goal.

In this case, Warner Robins would have first down inside the 2-yard line. Referee Patrick Ingram made the preliminary call, and came back less than a minutes later stating the penalty was declined.

Warner Robins had its first lead of the game at 41-38. Bainbridge tied it with a 34-yard field goal. Bainbridge went first in the third overtime, and scored on a 7-yard keeper by quarterback Quayde Hawkins on a third and 2.

Demon quarterback Dylan Fromm was sacked for an 7-yard loss on third and two from the eight. His fourth-and-10 pass from the 15 to Marcayll Jones in the left side of the end zone was high and incomplete, and the Bearcats had the stunning win over a team that had beaten them 38-0 late in the regular season.

The wild game – Warner Robins trailed 21-0 and 35-7 only to storm back to tie the game and then have a game-winning field goal attempt blocked on the final play of regulation – was somewhat overshadowed by what most thought was a blown – and inexplicable - decision by Chastain to take three points rather than put his explosive offense less than two yards away with four downs to score and put that much more pressure on Bainbridge.

But Chastain – texted on Wednesday morning about the situation and returning the inquiry early Thursday afternoon - said he was told he had two options on the penalty: fourth and goal inside the two, the half-the-distance markoff, or keep the points. That would be in line with a running-into-the-kicker penalty, which is not an automatic first down.

“He explained it like a running into the kicker, though, call,” said Chastain, . He just said, 'Coach,' ... I said, 'Why is that not a first down? Why is roughing the kicker not a first down?' He said, ‘Coach, it's not’ … 'Coach, you gotta make a decision. It's fourth down, or take the points. Which one do you want?'”

Given only those two options, Chastain kept the points.

“No coach in America would take that,” he said. “If you're back there 40 yards away and you kick a field goal and make it, yeah, you're not going to take the points off the board.”

Chastain said he believed there was a miscommunication from the referee to the head line judge. He said he was watching the kick go through the uprights, and then saw his kicker on the ground.

“For whatever reason, I was focused on the sideline judge,” he said. “I did not actually see (the referee) give the signal, from talking to our coaches and talking to the sideline head linesman.

“People can say all they want about, 'You've got a lot of stuff going on in your head’ and all kind of stuff. I don't care how much is going on in your head. You ain't passing up first and goal when you're in double overtime. You ain't doing that.”

Chastain said the game was officiated well, and he was communicated with well all game long. And he didn’t think there was any intentional deception.

“That one thing was not communicated right,” the third-year head coach said. “I don't want to blame him. I just want there to be somebody to say, 'Look, we messed that up’ and admit to it.”

That apparently isn’t going to happen.

Hines, former superintendent of Houston County schools, said later Thursday afternoon that there was no “situation” and the game was over after that fourth-down incomplete pass.

The play was big, and Hines looked into it.

“Matter of fact, I checked three times,” he said. “Had my people contact the head official, three times, and he told me three times told what happened, which was ‘we gave them the preliminary call, roughing the kicker, 15-yard penalty or half the distance to the goal,’ which was half the distance to the goal at this time.

“He communicated to the head linesman, who then asked, 'do you want the first down or the points?' They chose the points.”

And there was another step.

“So I asked again,” Hines said. “My football guy checked with him (referee), because the coach from Warner Robins called me … And I can't tell ‘he said, she said.’ I've got to go with the facts at hand.”

That Chastain was told “first down or the points” was reiterated.

Hines said the GHSA has two evaluators, the rules interpreter and officials head of education, on headsets, one in the press box and one on the field. They’re a major part of evaluating officials late in the season to determine a playoff roster. Both have decades of experience, and are college officials.

“And I asked them independent of one another of what happened, and they said that's what the conversation was,” Hines said. “ ‘Do you want the first down or the points?’ Everybody heard it, they corroborated the story that was on the field.”

A prime role of the field evaluator is to get clarifications to pass along to the TV announcers who may not be up to date on rules.

GPB’s TV crew of Matt Stewart and Brian Jordan didn’t necessarily avail themselves of that access immediately, failing to clarify the rule while debating the decision about taking points off the board, etc. Several minutes later, they came back with the clarification from an evaluator that the roughing call was an automatic first down.

Cameras then showed Chastain, during a timeout in the third overtime, appearing to ask another official, ostensibly a side judge. Chastain was calm, finished the discussion, and returned to his team.

Shortly thereafter, the season was over, but the second-guessing was only picking up steam.

“Really, I thought the officials did a great job,” Chastain said. “I just, I'm baffled why that one guy's telling me fourth down. …

“I would like for that guy to say, ‘Hey, look, man, I explained to him fourth down, that's what I thought the call was.’ I don't think that that guy was vindictive and trying to make me think it was fourth down and it was really first down.

“I think in his mind it was fourth down. I think he was explaining to me exactly what he thought was the deal. But that's not what the white hat was signaling.”