Silsbee and Jasper have built a rather intense rivalry ever since their first meeting nearly 100 years ago. The teams were in the same district for 80 years and often played for the district championship.
Though they’re now in separate districts, the rivalry continues, and it absorbed more bad blood last Friday night when they met in Jasper.
During the third quarter of last Friday’s game, Jasper quarterback Leontay Sells turned around and tossed the ball to running back Jerkarion Simmons on a sweep right. As Sells watched Simmons dashed through the line, Silsbee junior safety Aaron Sells (no relation) took a running start from the left side of the defense and launched into the Jasper quarterback, leaving him unconscious on the blatant blindside bruising.
There’s an 11-second video on Hudl that shows the defender lay out the quarterback. Silsbee won the game, 30-23, but Jasper held a 23-15 at the time of the hit. After the quarterback left the game, Jasper mustered just 25 yards and no points. Sells the quarterback will miss this week’s game at Bryan Rudder and he could miss additional games.
Silsbee coach Randy Smith, in his second year, told the Beaumont Enterprise he thought the hit was malicious and that his junior safety would be disciplined.
“That kind of play is something we don’t teach at Silsbee,” Smith told the Beaumont Enterprise on Tuesday. “This incident is something we’re going to handle in-house.”
Smith said Monday that Sells’ punishment had yet to be determined, and that additional punishment could be handed down by the District 10-4A Division I executive committee and UIL if they feel Silsbee’s in-house punishment isn’t adequate.
A short-handed officiating crew did not throw a flag on the play and Sells was not ejected for the hit.
The president of the Stephen F. Austin chapter of Texas Association of Sports Officials said a penalty for a late hit should have been called.
Jasper coach Darrell Barbay said Silsbee coach Randy Smith called him Sunday to apologize for the hit.
Silsbee is open this week and will be back at home Sept. 29 for a homecoming game against none other than West Orange-Stark, another long-time rival.
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