When is Running up the Score, Running up the Score?

I cover high school sports for a living, so I’ve seen my fair share of lopsided games. But I have yet to see a game get so out of hand that it goes viral on the national stage. Every year it seems as if there are a few high school scores that make people turn their heads, and then start screaming over sportsmanship.

Most are legitimate complaints, but all need to be put in context.

This year, one girls basketball score hit close to home. Gilmour Academy — a private school in Cleveland — beat Northeast Ohio Prep 108-1 in a playoff game. No, not a typo, the opposition scored one point, that’s it.

(Side note: every high school basketball team makes the boys and girls state playoffs in all Ohio divisions.)

Cleveland.com reported Northeast Ohio College Prep missed all 28 shots and converted just 1-of-4 free throws. Gilmour coach Bob Beutel said the team did not try to run up the score, and even substituted his starters for junior varsity players in the first quarter.

Beutel gave an insightful radio interview on the matter. And raised a fair point that many other schools won by wide margins in the opening round of the tournament.

A quick aside: I am dead-set against prep and college teams running up the score and do not believe there is such a thing as scoring too much in a professional setting (you’re getting paid, shut up and play better). But on the high school and college levels — where “student” is supposed to come first — the game is supposed to be about developing fundamentals and teaching life lessons. It’s counter-productive to show absolutely no mercy for an opponent who is clearly overmatched.

Sports are supposed to build character, in victory and defeat. Coaches that keep stomping on the throat when the neck has been broken three times over need a reality check.

Back to Gilmour. On the surface, a 107-point loss screams something deliberate. But here’s the twist — if Beutel substitutes all his good players and the opposition can’t even score a field goal against the backups’ backups, then I have one question: why are these two teams even playing?

At that point it’s time to face the hard reality that sports can crush people just as fast as they build people up. The nature of the beast is that there will always be more losers than winners. Yeah I know you can win even when you lose, but not really. The scoreboard is unforgiving, it will always leave a wake of destruction come season’s end.

More kids will end their season not winning it all than those that do. There are more than 800 schools playing Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned sports. In football there are only seven state champions, 28 regional champions and a handful of league champions. And football has more divisions than any other OHSAA sanctioned sport (seven total). By definition, not everyone can have a winning record. But I'd argue that those kids knew exactly what they signed up for when they decided to take the court, field, ice or wherever they might be playing.

You’re probably not going to win it all, and that’s OK. If sports were only about what the scoreboard says, nobody would play. Trust me I’ve seen some very, very lopsided scores.

I didn’t attend the Gilmour game so I have no idea if Beutel did what he said. I do know that there are some very good local journalists in Northeast Ohio and trust that what they reported is accurate. In my opinion, Beutel did all he could, the other team just couldn’t score.

Unfortunately, there are coaches out there who show no mercy even in instances when the game is over after one quarter. Coaches who win at all costs and keep laying the hammer down even when the game is long since over. Some do the unthinkable — going so far to instruct players to intentionally injure the opposition’s star player.

Those coaches shouldn’t be coaching. At that point you’re teaching kids that destroying your opponent is more important than being a gracious winner.

Interviewing kids who just lost a game can be tough. They’re likely dejected, and even more so if it’s the last game of their career. There’s a fine line between hurt and glory and if you play sports long enough you’ll likely experience more of the former. But most of the time there are also hugs in the locker room. There’s bonding, strong friendships and even smiles. Most coaches manage to find life lessons in every outcome.

Kids who play sports under the right mentors always win. No matter what the score.