N.Va. Boys' Championship Dream Doomed by a Moment of Vengeance

Hinkle was not at the season's last game because he was attending his mother's funeral in Indiana. Owens said that the day after the game, Hinkle called him and asked him whether Scott had played defense in the game. "I said, 'Your son played offense. He played well and we won the game and we're going to the playoffs.' He said, 'You're fired.' "

Tommy Thompson, a member of the executive board of the league who is in charge of discipline and rules enforcement, said that under league rules, Hinkle had the authority to fire the coaches. He said that it is not unusual for coaches to be fired but that in the 10 years he has been involved with the league he had never heard of the coach of a team headed to the playoffs being fired.

"I am as upset" as the Raptors' parents are, Thompson said.

League Chairman Mark Meana said yesterday: "This is disturbing, because we have 5,800 kids, 313 other teams and 22 other organizations, and usually the only thing we ever talk about is the actions of one lunatic on the sidelines or the parents who make headlines nationally for doing something stupid."

He said that because the coaches did not violate any league rules, the league did not get involved in the dispute. However, he said, the league will investigate the firings. Owens has coached youth football for seven years.

The board tried to get Hinkle to change his mind but he would not, Thompson said. On Monday, the parents held a meeting. Hinkle told them he wanted to hire new coaches for the playoff game, according to parents who attended the meeting. The players decided they wanted to play only for Owens and Burnham.

"I really didn't want to play for anyone else," said Michael Holland, 13, a seventh-grader who is the middle linebacker on the team. Owens is "a good coach. He's nice. He listens."

Michael said he is upset that he is not suiting up in his Raptors uniform and playing today. "I am pretty mad, because we worked hard for it. The last game [also against Herndon], we had to fight really hard to win, and I think for sure we were going to beat them again this week."

When asked how his teammates are taking the end of their season, Michael said, "They are saying it is stupid and that we should be in the playoffs and we could have won the championship."

He also said his fellow players feel bad for Hinkle's son because he is well liked and worked hard. Michael added that he is sure the boy didn't know that his father had dictated what position he would play.

"If my dad did something like that, I wouldn't like it. I'd tell him not to do it. It's not fair," Michael said.

Burnham said he and Owens are still talking to the players, trying to help them deal with a season that has been lost for them -- off the field.

"As disheartening as this might be," he said, "this might be one of the biggest lessons these kids will learn in youth sports: how to handle adversity and disappointment and come out a better person for it."