Parent Files Bullying Complaint After Son's Team Loses, 91-0

Aledo High School beat Fort Worth Western Hills, 91-0, last Friday in Texas, and a Western Hills parent has filed a bullying complaint against Aledo coach Tim Buchanan, according to Ryan Osborne of the Star-Telegram.  

Aledo, which is ranked No. 1 in the statewide Class 4A poll, blew Western Hills off the field. It wasn't the biggest of surprises, however. With the latest win, Aledo has averaged 69.3 points per game this season, and the Bearcats have beaten their last four opponents by an average of almost 77 points.

On the other side, Western Hills entered the game 0-6 and had only around 30 players for the contest. The Cougars had allowed at least 35 points in five of six games, including three games of at least 61 points to start the season.

There are always a few cases of ugly scores throughout the country every year, but this one has ended with a parent filing a bullying report. But was it a case of bullying?

Let's look at some of the facts, per Osborne:

• Aledo's offensive starters played only 21 snaps
• The Aledo quarterbacks combined for only 10 pass attempts
• A running clock was implemented in the third quarter
• The Bearcats rushed for 391 yards and eight touchdowns

It appears Coach Buchanan did everything he could, outside of taking a knee on every play, to not run up the score. The Bearcats scored 28 points in each of the first two quarters, and it probably could have been a lot worse.

Buchanan said his team took no joy from the blowout.

“I’m upset about it,” Buchanan said. “I don’t like it. I sit there the whole third and fourth quarter and try to think how I can keep us from scoring.”

Ironically, it's Western Hills coach John Naylor who didn't believe that there was anything wrong with the game. He understood that he was facing the No. 1 team and was overmatched.

“I think the game was handled fine,” Naylor said. “They’re No. 1 for a reason, and I know coach Buchanan. We’re fighting a real uphill battle right now.”

Texas school districts are required to provide bullying reports on their websites. One parent decided that last Friday's game was worth reporting.

"When asked to describe what happened, the parent wrote 'Unsportsmanlike conduct from 7:30 - 10:00,'" according to Brandon Todd of Fox 4 in Dallas.

At some point, teams have to let up. However, it's not reasonable to expect players to not give it their all (especially second- and third-stringers) every time they take the field.