By ABBY SEWELL

October 22, 2008

BARSTOW • Emotions have had time to simmer down since Saturday, when a mass brawl broke out among spectators during a Barstow Youth Football game against a San Bernardino team, ending with one man knocked unconscious, a coach suspended and four people arrested.

Conflicting accounts have placed the blame on both sides. Officials are still piecing together the full story of what happened and trying to find a way to go on with the season, making sure that there is no repeat of Saturday’s events.

“The main thing is that when these players get back out here that they feel good, safe to play,” BYF President Ray Silva said in a meeting between officials and team parents Tuesday.

BYF has already bought orange construction fencing to set up between the field and the spectators’ stands, Silva said. At Tuesday’s meeting, some suggested setting up video cameras and requesting police presence or some type of security at the games.

Silva said that he and BYF board members will make a point of being present at games and will talk to Barstow Police Department about bringing in reserve officers to patrol the last home game before playoffs. In the future, BYF will develop an evacuation drill for dealing with violent situations, to make sure the players are safe, he said.

Barstow head coach Jerry Pinkney, who was cited on suspicion of disturbing the peace for his role in the incident, will be removed from coaching duties until at least next October, said BYF Commissioner Don Depue, who is in charge of handling disciplinary issues for the chapter. Barstow High School head varsity football coach Jose Rubio will take over Pinkney’s position, Silva said.

The fight between Barstow and San Bernardino spectators began after Pinkney reportedly pushed a San Bernardino player while breaking up a scuffle between the San Bernardino boy and Pinkney’s son, a player on the Barstow team. An emotional confrontation between Barstow and San Bernardino coaches and spectators followed the incident, eventually escalating to mass violence.

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