A Natchitoches Central High School football player was arrested for punching a Terrebonne High player during the customary postgame handshake line moments after the Tigers defeated the visiting Chiefs in overtime, 27-24, Friday night in a first-round state playoff game at Houma.
The Houma Police Department arrested the unidentified NCHS student for second degree battery, a felony charge. The Terrebonne player, Kalum Verdin, suffered a broken tooth, according to a Facebook post by his mother, and was home Friday night after a trip to a local hospital.
The NCHS player was detained and later released into the custody of the school, reports said. He was issued a summons to report for a court hearing in Houma, according to multiple media reports.
The school posted an apology Saturday on its Facebook page and shared it to at least one Houma-area media outlet’s page:
“Natchitoches Central High School Administration, Athletics, and Coaches would like to apologize for a very unfortunate and intolerable behavior by one NCHS athlete.
“NCHS does not condone fighting nor violence of any kind on its school campus nor any extracurricular event. We take extreme measures to prevent these types of instances during school and that standard applies double to our athletic representation.
“NCHS in all cases involving student misconduct, especially that of fighting, will act with severe penalties for any student guilty of such misconduct; this does include the forfeiture of any athletic participation currently and in the future.
“Respect, Honor, and Tradition are the cornerstones of NCHS values and expectations and that standard was not followed by one student-athlete Friday night.
“Natchitoches Central coaches and the administration would like to commend Terrebonne High school players and coaches for showing such restraint and cooperation in a very brief but tense moment.
“THS athletes were admirable in their response and we thank their coaching staff for their handling and minimization of that post-game event. Natchitoches Central wishes the Tigers nothing but the best in the next rounds of the LHSAA playoffs and hope to see those players continue their great season.
“NCHS would like to reiterate that this one behavior is not indicative of the values that our coaches teach and that our players act with on a normal basis.”
