Prep football: Windsor triumphs over College Park as game gets ugly at end

Windsor began its North Coast Section Division 3 title defense with a 41-15 win over visiting No. 7 College Park on Friday in a game that devolved into some ugly scenes in the closing moments.

With the game well in hand, the No. 2 Jaguars (9-2) looked to kneel out the clock with two minutes left at the 5-yard line of the Falcons (7-4), who hail from the Diablo Valley Athletic League.

When backup quarterback Tyler Swanson dropped down to a knee, a College Park player went around Windsor’s line and delivered a late hit to the back of Swanson’s head.

“We’re lucky our guy isn’t in the hospital right now, because the guy came off the edge and behind him and speared him in the back of the neck,” Sexton said. “Our kid has a headache so bad he can’t see straight right now. … We’re lucky we’re not dealing with a major deal because of a team doing that. I just watched the film and it’s crazy. It was out of hand.”

The game had already gotten chippy in the second half, Sexton said.

“I’ve never been a part of a game like that in all the years I’ve coached, as far as cheap shots and penalties and just really scary-looking plays,” he said. “I mean especially there at the end.”

Sexton said after the hit on Swanson, officials called the game and Windsor escorted their players off the field and to their cars.

“It was just an ugly scene overall, which was unfortunate because I thought both teams played a pretty decent game on the field, but it just turned into an out-of-control situation,” he added.

This is not the first time this season that College Park has been scrutinized for sportsmanship issues this season. Head coach Travis Raciti and Athletic Director Jim Keck were both suspended for the final two games of the regular season after College Park blew out Ygnacio Valley 84-0 three weeks ago.

Friday was Raciti’s first game back since serving his suspension. He did not respond to requests for comment by the Bay Area News Group about Friday’s game, its newspapers reported.

On Saturday, Dr. Adam Clark, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District superintendent, issued an apology to the Windsor community.

“I take full responsibility,” Clark told the Bay Area News Group. “I am the superintendent. It’s my high school. My district. With that said, I want to send out my most sincere apologies to the young man who was hurt and to his family and to the fans and coaches and his teammates. That is not indicative of my expectations. Not indicative of what we stand for in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

“I haven’t had a chance to watch the tape,” he continued. “I have read the article. We will look into it and I just want to reiterate, the reason why we made the move a couple of weeks ago is because I stand by that athletics is a privilege and we need strong leadership and high-character students who are participating.”

Windsor held a 34-7 lead at the half before the game devolved over the final two quarters.

Junior quarterback Judson Anderson delivered the best game of his varsity career, going 22-for-28 passing for 375 yards with five touchdowns.

Hayden Anderson, his sophomore brother, stuffed the stat sheet once again, recording 196 receiving yards on eight catches, with an 81-yard touchdown catch, and added a rushing touchdown and two interceptions on defense.

Junior Joseph Campbell had two rushing touchdowns and an interception on defense, junior Gunnar Erickson had 67 rushing yards on six carries with a score, sophomore Wyatt Morris had 95 rushing yards on 19 carries and senior Brice Gonzalez and junior Jacob Byrn each had a sack.

Windsor will host No. 3 American Canyon in the semifinals this Friday.