Leading 104-0 before two-point conversion
First-year Morningside High football coach Brian Collins was livid regarding rival Inglewood High piling up the points and a record-setting number of touchdown passes in a 106-0 victory over Collins’ team last weekend.
The game included Inglewood’s star quarterback, Justyn Martin, throwing 13 touchdown passes to set a CIF Southern Section record.
Collins called Inglewood’s coaching staff “classless” for running up the score. Inglewood is 8-0 and going to the CIF-SS playoffs. Morningside finished the season 2-8.
“We know they were a better and superior team,” Collins said. “I think it was classless, but they’re grown men and I’m not going to tell them how to run their program. “Throwing the ball for four quarters with your starting quarterback just doesn’t seem right. Why take the chance of getting him hurt?”
News of the game quickly spread on social media, and Inglewood was a trending topic over the weekend.
The CIF-Southern Section released the following statement: “The CIF Southern Section expects that all athletic contests are to be conducted under the strictest code of good sportsmanship. We expect coaches, players, officials, administrators and students to adhere to the Six Pillars of Character – Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
“A score of 106-0 does not represent these ideals. The CIF-SS condemns, in the strongest terms, results such as these. It is our expectation that the Inglewood administration will work towards putting in place an action plan so that an event such as this does not repeat itself.” The Inglewood School District has also launched an inquiry.
Inglewood’s Sentinels led 52-0 at the end of the first quarter and 86-0 at halftime. Collins said a running clock didn’t start until late in the second quarter.
Martin, who this week announced his commitment to UCLA, set a new CIF-SS record for touchdown passes in a game. The previous record was nine, shared by Robert De La Cruz (Cathedral in 1998 and 1999), Quinn Commans (Whittier Christian, 2017) and former Inglewood quarterback Jared Heywood (2019).
“They’re a good program,” Collins said. “But if they feel like scoring 100 points against Morningside is going to make them a bigger program, then big ups to them. If you’re that good, go play St. John Bosco, Mater Dei or Servite.
“Give me those transfers and I’m sure if I was in that situation, I would never do that … You don’t see Mater Dei, Bosco doing that.”
The two teams, although city rivals, couldn’t be any more different. The Sentinels have a roster that’s loaded with transfers, and several of those players have committed to Division I college programs.
Morningside’s Monarchs didn’t meet their coach until a week before the start of the season.
“We didn’t have an offseason (program),” Collins explained, “no spring, no 7-on-7 and we already had an inexperienced team … down to our fourth quarterback, who is a wide receiver, three lineman were out, so the team was already depleted.”
