Editing Running up the score (section)

==American high school sports==
Vast talent discrepancies between opponents happen more often in [[high school]] sports than in college or professional sports. This is especially prevalent in district competition (where schools of similar size are grouped based on geography) and regional [[single-elimination tournament]]s in which all schools (regardless of record) participate. It is even more prevalent in Kentucky high school basketball, in which [[Sweet Sixteen (KHSAA State Basketball Championship)|a single state championship for each sex]] is conducted; this in turn means that district and regional competitions, and even the state tournaments, will feature games involving schools that differ vastly in enrollment. Often, a state's athletic association will [[Seed (tennis)|seed]] a vastly superior team (one that has gone undefeated or has very few losses) against a very weak team in the first round (so as to avoid early-round matchups between high-seeded teams, hoping to leave those matchups for later rounds), and the talent disparity between the two teams quickly becomes obvious. (Kentucky has never seeded its state tournaments, using a blind draw to fill its brackets.)

One notorious example of many such incidents that happen each year throughout the United States was the state-ranked Walkerville High School (enrollment 98) 115–2 victory against Lakeshore Academy (enrollment 49), in a Class D district game in the 2002 [[Michigan]] High School Girls' Basketball state tournament.<ref>{{Cite web |last=services |first=Compiled from Ledger wire |title=115-2 Score Sets Off Fireworks In Michigan |url=https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2002/11/21/115-2-score-sets-off-fireworks-in-michigan/26029013007/ |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=The Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref>

In light of similar incidents, coaches are often accused of running up the score and taking the opportunity to humiliate and embarrass a weak opponent. At times, large margins of victory occur in games where the winning school's reserves (second-string and [[junior varsity]] players) played a good share of the contest and simply were able to score at will against the weaker opposition. However, when the star players are left in to set scoring records, as happened with [[Epiphanny Prince]]'s 113-point basketball game in 2006, criticism usually follows.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojnarowski_adrian&id=2316846 |title=Allowing a player to score 113 points is absurd |work=ESPN.com |author=Wojnarowski, Adrian |date=February 2, 2006  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114202209/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojnarowski_adrian&id=2316846 |archive-date=2012-11-14 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 2006, the [[Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference]] has considered any victory margin of 50 points or more in a football game to be unsportsmanlike. If this occurs, the winning team's coach will be [[suspension (punishment)|suspended]] for the team's next game. This was in response to one coach, Jack Cochran of [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], whose teams won that way four times during 2005. During the 2005 season, Jack Cochran's New London High School football team, the highest scoring offense in CT, was shut out 16–0 by the Windham High School Whippets. In response to being shut out for the first time in his career, the following week Cochran had his team run up the score 90–0 against a much weaker opponent. The victory provoked a brawl and led to [[disorderly conduct]] charges against the losing coach. Coach Cochran defended himself by saying that in one 90–0 blowout, he had tried to get both teams and the timekeeper to run the clock continuously, as is done in [[Iowa]] when one team has a 35-point lead. The CIAC considered a similar proposal but rejected as several members felt it would cut into backups' playing time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/sports/news/story?id=2457707 |title=Coaches face suspension for wins of 50-plus points |date=May 25, 2006 |work=ESPN.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518151607/http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2457707 |archive-date=2013-05-18 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During a 2007 [[Kansas State High School Activities Association]] playoff game, [[Smith Center High School]] set a [[National Federation of State High School Associations]] record by scoring 72 points in the first quarter vs. Plainville. Coincidentally, the same two teams played each other only 25 days prior to the playoff contest, with Smith Center winning 72–0. During the regular season game, a continuous clock was triggered when the score differential reached 40 points, but there was no such provision in the rules at the time for its use in the playoffs. Smith Center administrators called the KSHSAA office and received permission to use the running clock starting with the second quarter of the second game with Plainville. (To avoid a recurrence, in 2011 the KSHSAA adopted a modified mercy rule for the playoffs, stating any 11-man postseason contest prior to the championship game would use a running clock in the second half once the margin reached 45 points.)

In October 2008, [[Naples High School]] defeated [[Estero High School]], [[Florida]] 91–0. Naples was the defending [[Florida High School Athletic Association]] Class 3A champion. Despite accusations that Naples ran up the score, Coach Bill Kramer kept most of his star players out of the game for most, if not all of the game. Some Naples parents consequently called the coach to complain that their sons did not play.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/highschool/rise/football/news/story?id=3641717 |title=Fallout over 91-0 final score affects two Florida high school teams |date=October 14, 2008 |work=ESPN.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025121500/http://espn.go.com/high-school/football/story/_/id/3641717/fallout-91-0-final-score-affects-two-florida-high-school-teams/ |archive-date=2012-10-25 |url-status=live}}</ref> Five years later, in 2013, another 91–0 score between district opponents [[Aledo High School (Texas)|Aledo]] (who would ultimately win the state title, one of its state record eight) and [[Western Hills High School (Benbrook, Texas)|Western Hills]] (who would go winless on the season) led a parent of the losing Western Hills team to file [[bullying]] charges with the Aledo school district against the Aledo head coach.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/361880/texas-high-school-football-blowout-leads-parent-file-bullying-accusation-sterling |title=Texas High School Football Blowout Leads Parent to File Bullying Accusation |date=October 22, 2013 |newspaper=[[National Review]] |last=Beard |first=Sterling |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190550/http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/361880/texas-high-school-football-blowout-leads-parent-file-bullying-accusation-sterling |archive-date=2013-10-29 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In a January 13, 2009 girls' basketball game, Covenant School of Dallas defeated Dallas Academy 100–0.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012609dnspocovenantnu.2781526.html |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=January 26, 2009 |author=Horn, Barry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203114249/http://dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012609dnspocovenantnu.2781526.html |archive-date=2009-02-03 |url-status=dead |title=Covenant coach who beat Dallas Academy 100-0 is fired}}</ref>

In 1926, Haven High School of [[Haven, Kansas]] defeated Sylvia High School by a score of 256–0, the highest recorded score in the history of [[American football]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://havenhighalumni.com/history-and-tradition.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005203737/http://havenhighalumni.com/history-and-tradition.html |title=Haven High School Alumni Association: History and Tradition |publisher=Haven High School |archive-date=2013-10-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 5, 2015, the San Bernardino Arroyo Valley (CA) High School girls' basketball team obliterated Bloomington High by a score of 161–2. Ten days later, San Bernardino suspended coach Michael Anderson for two games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/story/_/id/12182194/california-girls-high-school-basketball-coach-suspended-two-games-161-2-win |title=Coach suspended after 161-2 win |date=17 January 2015 | publisher=ESPN }}</ref>

On September 17, 2021, the Coronado (CA) High School Football team defeated Kearny High with a score of 78–0. Coronado had a 41-point first quarter, setting a high score margin early in the game. Kearny then continued their streak of losing by a large margin, losing 76-0 during their next game against San Diego High on September 24.

In an October 29, 2021 football game, Inglewood High School defeated Morningside High School by the lopsided score of 106–0 in a game that included 13 touchdown passes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usatodayhss.com/2021/controversy-after-inglewood-106-0-blowout|title = Controversy after 106-0 blowout: School district 'saddened beyond words'|date = 31 October 2021}}</ref> The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section condemned the contest and Inglewood High's principal issued an apology.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.maxpreps.com/news/MPjVeEgdZUiCSgCVOz5weg/high-school-football--ucla-commit-justyn-martin-of-inglewood-throws-13-touchdown-passes-in-106-0-win.htm|title = High school football: UCLA commit Justyn Martin of Inglewood throws 13 touchdown passes in 106-0 win - MaxPreps|date = 2 November 2021}}</ref> Ironically, in 1990, Morningside scored 102 points in the first half of a girls’ basketball game against South Torrance. South Torrance refused to come back out after halftime to finish the game. The final score was 102–24.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2021-10-30/morningside-reaction-inglewood-scoring-106-points| title = Morningside football coach slams Inglewood for scoring 106 - Los Angeles Times| website = [[Los Angeles Times]]| date = 30 October 2021}}</ref>