Watch Claiborne video disputing TSSAA officials' report in football game that ended early

A screenshot of video of the ending of the football game between Claiborne and Oliver Springs on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018.

Claiborne athletic director Jeff Stephenson disputes the TSSAA officials' report from Friday's game that ended early due to personal fouls, and he has shared video with the News Sentinel to show what happened.

The game was called by officials with 2:35 left due to too many personal fouls and Oliver Springs leading 62-28. The TSSAA officials' report was released Monday, outlining what happened.

The biggest issue Stephenson has with the report from the Clinch Valley Football Officials Association is the accusation that coach Nathan Medlin "took off after" an Oliver Springs player.

Did a coach go after a player?

"That is the worst statement in this whole thing," Stephenson said. "When you watch the video, our coach ran onto the field and he got our player, pushed him off the sideline. At no time did he ever push or go after another player."

Executive director Bernard Childress said Tuesday the TSSAA would go over the video with Claiborne on Wednesday and determine whether there should be any further penalties or whether to go back over the report with the officials.

The video showed Medlin approached the players with his arms outstretched, reaching for his own player. He put himself between the players, and his back remained to the Oliver Springs player as he pushed his own player to the bench.

"He is really torn up about this," Stephenson said of Medlin. "His main thing was just to get his players from getting a penalty or getting ejected. He did a great job of keeping our player from doing anything stupid."

What happened to lead to the game being called?

The report referred to an injury to a Claiborne player that led to a scrum and then the game was called. The video showed there were several plays after the one on which the injury occurred.

Claiborne was called for holding on the play with the injury, then Oliver Springs was called for consecutive holding penalties. Claiborne then completed a long pass and the receiver was run out of bounds. A couple of Claiborne players appear to pursue an Oliver Springs player, but Medlin immediately jumped out and pushed them back. A Claiborne player was assessed a personal foul on the play.

On the next play, a couple of Claiborne blockers and Oliver Springs defenders got tangled and an Oliver Springs player's helmet came off. The report referred to a player who was not involved in the play as ripping off the helmet, but it is not clear how the helmet came off from the video.

It was, however, in the course of the play, and that appeared to be what sparked some shoving. Players separated each other, but one Claiborne player was still approaching an Oliver Springs player. That was when Medlin put his body between the players and pushed his player back to the sideline.

At that point, the officials met and decided to call the game.

What is the fallout?

The report referred to Claiborne's bench clearing, but the video did not show the Claiborne bench clearing. It does not appear anyone came off the bench, but as one of the scuffles started on the sideline, it is hard to tell.

A $250 fine for players leaving the bench is the only discipline being handed down by the TSSAA, according to Stephenson. Stephenson has submitted the video as part of an appeal.

Stephenson did not deny what the report said about a fan making inappropriate comments. He plans to address that with the fan once he handles the accusations and discipline against his team.

"It was a chippy game, there were a lot of penalties, it’s not a game we are proud of," Stephenson said. "But the things that are being said are over-exaggerated to false."

More:Officials' report: Oliver Springs-Claiborne game got out of hand quickly

More:Oliver Springs, Claiborne game ends early with multiple personal fouls