The aftermath of a melee that broke out in the handshake line after the Deltona-Matanzas game on Oct. 1. Photo by Keishia McLendon
A band of Pirates tackle a Deltona player. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas running back Wiley Conner protects the ball as Deltona defenders close in. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas coach Matt Forrest indicates a first down. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas junior Jayden McCoy (left) returns a punt. Photo by Keishia McLendon
The Pirates' band plays in the stands during the game. Photo by Keishia McLendon
This story will be updated with more game photos.
A tense, combative football game between Deltona and Matanzas high schools turned ugly afterward when a brawl broke out in the postgame handshake line.
Several personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against both teams, in addition to a Matanzas player ejection, marred Deltona’s 21-12 victory at Matanzas on Thursday, Oct. 1. With some of the players on both teams having already gone through the entire the handshake line, a Matanzas player pushed a Deltona player out of the line and onto the ground.
Several players from both teams joined in. Individual fights broke out as coaches, administrators and sheriff deputies, who were working the game, tried to separate players.
After the teams were separated, Matanzas coach Matt Forrest and administrators had the Pirates remain on the field as the Wolves made their way out of the stadium.
Forrest said he was in the front of the handshake line and did not see how the melee started, but coaches were positioned throughout the line.
All that will be pending [a Florida High School Athletic Association] review. ... And we'll wait and see what happens as a result of that.
— MATT FORREST, Matanzas football coach
“All that will be pending [a Florida High School Athletic Association] review,” Forrest said. “That's why they record the handshake lines from start to finish. So all that stuff will get reviewed by them. And we'll wait and see what happens as a result of that.”
Matanzas administrators indicated that in addition to FHSAA discipline, there could also be discipline imposed by the school.
The game and handshake line incident can be viewed on the Observer’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/watch?v=sS5YN4FVKVg,
Deltona coach Matt Martin later told the Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Fortunately, they broadcasted that game live, so I watched it. I'm not going to condone anything that happened. I'm going to continue to watch it. I didn't see one of our guys throw a (punch). Their guy took our guy, shoved him out of line and then took him to the ground. And then obviously all of our guys got around, and then it was one of those big piles. Then it just doesn't look good.”
“I got a lot of respect for Coach Forrest over there,” Martin continued. “So I'm not bashing them. One of their players was (ejected) during the game, and it could've easily been two.”
Forrest said no one on the Pirates was injured. Martin told the News-Journal that “everyone’s safe.”
All three Wolves’ touchdowns came off Pirates’ miscues as Matanzas turned the ball over five times and also couldn't get a punt off leading to a short touchdown.
But, after Deltona went ahead 21-0 late in the third quarter, freshman quarterback Devin Davis entered the game and led the Pirates on two consecutive touchdown drives, giving them a chance for a comeback.
“He was able to come in and show great poise as a freshman,” Forrest said
Davis orchestrated a 38-yard drive, completing 3 of 4 passes for 48 yards. He finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wiley Conner with 1:02 left in the third quarter. Davis then engineered a 60-yard scoring drive starting with a 20-yard pass to Conner and finishing with a 29-yard touchdown toss to a wide-open Brady Putis.
“He looks really good throwing the ball,” Forrest said of Davis. “We were looking for a spark. I will say he had a good week of practice, and he had a good off-the-field week too. He's just got to keep growing and keep climbing, and opportunities will be there. I don't think [starting quarterback] Michael McDonough played bad. I just think we were looking for a spark.”
Matanzas (1-5) lost three fumbles and were intercepted twice, including a pick-six that bounced off Conner’s hands into the arms of Deltona’s Prentiss Lane who returne the ball 57 yards to give the Wolves a 14-0 lead with 7:07 left in the third quarter.
With kicker/punter Alexander Taylor out, the Pirates had inexperienced players punting and kicking. Their first extra-point kick was blocked at the line of scrimmage. A 2-point conversion run failed after Putis’ catch, leaving it a two-possession game. Matanzas did not get the ball back until 36 seconds left, and its final drive ended with an interception with eight seconds on the clock.
Deltona (3-3) scored its first touchdown after Matanzas couldn’t get off a punt on a high snap. The Wolves took over at the Pirates’ 13-yard line and quarterback David Wright scored one play later on a 3-yard keeper.
The Wolves' final touchdown with 3:22 left in the third quarter followed a Matanzas fumble off an errant lateral.
“It seems like games where we take care of the ball, we do well. In games where we do not take care of the ball, we don't do so well,” Forrest said. “You can't make those kind of errors and expect to win football games, you just can’t. Credit Deltona for causing those. You have to be in the right place at the right time to make those plays. We had [a chance for] two interceptions that we didn't make. We just didn’t make as many plays as they did.”
Matanzas will host undefeated Buchholz (7-0) on Friday, Oct. 9.
