Mountain Vista assistant coach suspended for contacting Valor Christian player’s helmet during end-of-game melee on sideline

A sideline scuffle at the end of the Mountain Vista-Valor Christian game took the football rivalry to a controversial level on Friday night.

With 24 seconds left in the game, Mountain Vista assistant coach Dylan James was ejected for his role in separating Valor Christian running back Chase Hanosh from a confrontation with Mountain Vista players on the Golden Eagles’ sideline.

The head official at the game, held at Valor Stadium in Highlands Ranch, announced James was ejected for “hitting a player.”

The Denver Post reviewed two angles of video from the sideline scuffle. One of the angles shows a hand pushing the back of Hanosh’s helmet as the scuffle is being broken up, causing Hanosh’s helmet to come forward. Hanosh then immediately turns and confronts someone behind him. A referee was standing right there as it happened.

Valor Christian head of school Bryan Ritz released a statement about the incident on Sunday night, calling the assistant coach’s behavior “unacceptable.”

“Coaches are entrusted with modeling integrity, discipline and respect — values that are fundamental to high school athletics and to the safety of every student on the field,” Ritz wrote. “… No coach or adult should ever put their hands on a student. Our community expects and deserves better from those entrusted with mentoring young people.”

Douglas County School District digital communications director Chelane Garcia-Herrada told The Post on Saturday that a school resource officer reviewed footage of the incident and that no criminal charges would be filed against James. But on Monday afternoon, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office public information director Deborah Takahara told The Post the investigation remains open.

“The investigators just got the case and they are reviewing it,” Takahara said.

The fracas began after a game-sealing interception by Mountain Vista cornerback Halden Robinson.

With Valor Christian down by two points and facing third-and-20 at their own 33-yard line with 37 seconds remaining, Eagles quarterback Dawson Olk heaved a deep pass down the sideline. Robinson picked it off and ran the ball back past the 50-yard line, where he was hit up high by Hanosh as Robinson went to slide in bounds along the Mountain Vista sideline.

The hit drew the ire of the Golden Eagles’ sideline and immediately prompted a scuffle between Mountain Vista, Hanosh and a couple of other Valor Christian players. After the scuffle dissipated, the head referee announced a personal foul on Hanosh as well as James’ ejection.

Mountain Vista head coach Garrett Looney told The Post that CHSAA suspended James for one game, as is standard for a coach’s first ejection under CHSAA bylaws. Additionally, James will be on probation with the association for a year as a result of his physical interaction with a player from the opposing team. James will have to complete online courses through the National Federation of State High School Associations on sportsmanship, as well as teaching and modeling behavior.

Any additional punishment for James, such as a suspension extending beyond one game, would be up to Mountain Vista athletic director Jim Flanigan and DCSD athletic director Derek Chaney to decide.

Looney, who said Valor Christian parents were yelling at his staff after the game, believes Valor Christian’s response was disproportionate to the act.

“Was there anything egregious to where a kid was thrown off our sideline, or truly hit? No,” Looney said. “Did a coach make contact with a player by the rule of law? Yeah. To say there should be lawsuits or something criminal here, that to me is where it’s overblown.