Youth football coaches mix it up before team members

RENO - Prosecutors will determine whether to file criminal charges against two Nevada youth football coaches of opposing teams who got into a fistfight after a game and bloodied each other's faces.

A police report on the fight between Luis Perez and Frank Sanchez in West Wendover, along the Utah border, was being submitted to Elko County prosecutors for review, police Sgt. David Wiskerchen said.

He said the Tuesday night fight after postgame handshakes stemmed from a disagreement over a play during the game between teams of 10- to 13-year-old boys.

He said he did not have any details about the disagreement.

"There was some sort of disagreement on how a play was played out and something about that didn't sit well with one of them, and the result was an argument that ended up with a physical altercation," Wiskerchen said.

Dozens of children and parents saw the fight on a field in West Wendover, 400 miles east of Reno.

"The children should not have to witness these types of aggressive actions by adults," Wiskerchen said. "Unfortunately, they (coaches) let their tempers get the best of them."

Bob Loncar, head of the Great Basin Youth Football League, told the Elko Daily Free Press that he doesn't think there were any previous problems between the two coaches.

"One minute they were talking, and the next they were brawling," he said.

The fight was broken up by two assistant coaches by the time two officers arrived on the scene.

The officers took statements from the coaches and interviewed witnesses. No arrests were made.

Both coaches refused medical attention at the time, Wiskerchen said, and it was unknown whether they ended up at the hospital.

The coaches have unlisted phone numbers in West Wendover and could not be reached for comment. Their ages were not available.

Perez is a former West Wendover High School head baseball coach and football player who graduated from the school in 2005.

He had coached in the youth football league for two years, while Sanchez had coached in it for five years.

Both coaches have been dismissed permanently from the league, Loncar said.

"This is extremely against all that the league is about and what we formed it for," he said. "We're glad this is an isolated incident."

Loncar said he was worried about kids who saw the fight.

"I just hope they're not traumatized," he said. "We'll be having a chat about sportsmanship."

Lorena Romaro of the district attorney's office said prosecutors had not received the case yet and could not comment.