A pair of underage Louisiana prep football players are facing charges of punching a referee during a game in early November.
As reported by Baton Rouge CBS affiliate WAFB and the Baton Rouge Advertiser, among other outlets, a 15-year-old and 16-year-old member of the West St. Mary High football team (Baldwin) were arrested and charged with battery for allegedly attacking a referee during a game against Erath High. Erath was victorious in the teams' faceoff by a score of 22-20. According to Louisiana news outlet Vermillion Today, an assistant coach was also involved in the attack, which occurred with just 12 seconds remaining in the game.
The loss was a major setback for West St. Mary. It also set the stage for another loss before the Wolfpack even took the field. Vermillion Today reported that West St. Mary agreed to forfeit its season finale against Abbeville High (Abbeville, La.), even though the two teams competed a game on the field, with West St. Mary finishing ahead 24-0.
The decision to forfeit the season finale was allegedly made by West St. Mary principal* Derrick White, though White did not comment on the forfeit to the media. Meanwhile, a full investigation into the incident by the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office is ongoing.
The alleged Louisiana assault is just the latest troubling attack on a game official in 2013. The most notable of these attacks occurred on April 27, when Utah soccer referee Ricardo Portillo was punched in the head by a teenage soccer goalkeeper. Portillo died in a hospital seven days later.

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Cameron Smith is the editor of Prep Rally on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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