By Todd Golden
WEST TERRE HAUTE — The postgame handshake after West Vigo’s 22-0 high school football victory over Paris on Friday at Jay Barrett Field was marred by a confrontation between Paris coach Mike Pagliaro and the West Vigo coaching staff.
After the Vikings and Tigers players shook hands, Pagliaro and a group of West Vigo assistant coaches got into a heated argument.
It was not visibly obvious as to what initiated the argument, but shortly after the coaches met, Pagliaro’s tone turned more confrontational, he threw his watch down and he began to angrily approach the group of West Vigo coaches to whom he’d been talking.
An unidentified Paris staff member stopped Pagliaro as he approached the Viking staff, and a group of Paris coaches physically removed Pagliaro from the playing surface before he left the field itself on his own.
West Vigo coach Jeff Cobb had already walked away from the postgame handshake when the confrontation occurred. None of the Vikings coaches made any advance on Pagliaro.
Pagliaro spent a few minutes in the Paris locker room, then angrily emerged again, using profanity and expressing a desire to confront the West Vigo coaches again.
Paris assistant coaches and some fans re-directed Pagliaro towards the Paris bleacher area.
“Our video camera broke and we didn’t have [another] one. I asked to get a tape and [an unidentified West Vigo assistant coach] told me no. Then one of their coaches challenged me in the parking lot, and I said, ‘Anyday of the week,’” said Pagliaro from the parking lot as the Tigers prepared to board their team bus.
The team left a few minutes later.
Cobb and West Vigo’s assistant coaches refused to comment, other than to deny Pagliaro’s assertions about challenging him to a fight.
West Vigo principal Tom Balitewicz was on the field when the incident occurred.
“My coaching staff is extremely professional and they would never engage in the activity that was alleged by that gentleman,” Balitewicz said. “We just want to have a good football team and run a clean program like we do. Coach Cobb is always extremely professional and he goes beyond what he needs to do with his ethics. He would never engage in anything like that.”
The football series between West Vigo and Paris ended after Friday’s game, a determination made before the incident took place.
Balitewicz did not wish to comment on whether the incident would affect other West Vigo-Paris events in other sports. Remaining fall events between the two schools include matchups in girls golf, volleyball and girls cross country.
The schools are separated by 15 miles and the state line. Pagliaro said that the different rules in Indiana and Illinois might have contributed to confusion on his part.
“We’re interstate teams trying to compete, we don’t apply the same rules that apply to the same association. We’re not a part of the Indiana association. If I made mistakes in terms of that stuff, I sincerely apologize. We can videotape anytime we want in Illinois, we can scout whenever we want in Illinois, I didn’t know those were the rules [in Indiana],” said Pagliaro, referring to rules forbidden by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.
