The Camp Verde High School football team scored first Friday, Sept. 17, making it a 7-0 game but that was all fans had to cheer about as their beloved Cowboys took a beating at the hands of Arizona Lutheran Academy, 64-21.
If the loss to the Coyotes wasn’t bad enough Friday, longtime Head Coach Luke Steege getting tossed probably took the cake.
With eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, calm words were exchanged between Steege and the head referee Friday night which wound up getting the tenured Cowboys coach escorted off the field by a Phoenix police officer.
“I told the referee I wasn’t leaving and that they better go get the athletic director and a cop if they expect me to leave,” Steege said.
Steege admitted to accusing the referee of being the brother of an Arizona Lutheran athletic director while on the sidelines, in a joking matter, which was the comment that got him ejected immediately.
“I wasn’t cursing, swearing, going crazy, nothing. It was calm and I got ejected,” Steege said.
Steege and his coaching staff had already received a unsportsmanlike conduct flag earlier in the game after Steege argued a pass interference flag that was called on Camp Verde linebacker Chris Zellner.
“I told the referee you might as well just put it in the end zone,” Steege recalled.
The comment, of course, drew a flag, but in the end, Steege said none of this would have mattered.
“Arizona Lutheran was the better team. Despite the numerous flags against us, it wouldn’t have mattered; they still would have beat us,” Steege said.
Camp Verde had 10 late-hit penalties thrown against them Friday night, among others.
The Coyotes ran all over the Camp Verde defense, recording 409 yards and seven touchdowns, the most the Cowboys have given up in several years.
Arizona Lutheran quarterback Kerry English completed seven of 11 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cowboys dropped their regular season record to 2-2 [0-0, 2A Central] overall on the season.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier with 2A Central region play beginning Friday, Sept. 24, when Camp Verde plays host to Northwest Christian Academy for homecoming.
Northwest Christian comes to Camp Verde with a 4-0 record and is ranked No. 1 in the Arizona Interscholastic Association power point polls, which were released Monday, Sept. 20.
Steege will not be on the sidelines Friday against Northwest Christian as he will serve an automatic one-game suspension for his conduct. Assistant coach Steve Hicks is expected to be the play caller.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
