Shields’ reprieve comes tonight

Nick Christensen

Monday, Nov. 17, 2003 | 9:46 a.m.

Tonight at Centennial High School, Cheyenne running back David Peeples will get a chance to show his stuff one more time.

Whether or not he should get that chance depends on who you ask.

"If people just go run and get temporary restraining orders, you could probably get one for the call of an official, you could get one for an ejection, you could get one for whatever comes down the road," NIAA executive director Jerry Hughes said Sunday via telephone from Reno. "That's what makes it difficult to even have any rules."

"I just felt like it was unfair to be punished that way," Peeples' mother Deborah Johnson said. "My son was where the attack initiated. He was spit on, he was cussed at, he was pushed. He didn't lift one finger to defend himself, he backed away and got away from that situation. For him to have to go through that and still be punished, that upset me.

"If you're going to punish the guys that were fighting, fine. But the other guys that weren't, it was totally unfair for them."

And so the tone is set for tonight's Sunset regional semifinal, at 6 p.m. at Centennial High. Not only will Cheyenne be fighting the Centennial Bulldogs, they'll be fighting the suspension of two of their players and the knowledge that anything they accomplish could eventually be taken away in their court battle with the NIAA.

"It's pretty much accepted that if there's a TRO, we don't have a good record of winning," Hughes said. "We do have a pretty good record of winning the hearings."

And if that's the case, Hughes said, Cheyenne will forfeit anything else they accomplish between Friday's issue of a restraining order and a successful day in court for the NIAA.

Cheyenne coach Dave Snyder was still shocked this weekend at how the NIAA came to their ruling, which was released Thursday afternoon.

"I think this whole thing is ridiculous," he said. "A decision like that should never have been made. The only way to get justice is to get the truth and not rush to an iron fist and 'We're going to have zero tolerance.' We have to have clear facts and reasons and policies in place on why we do things.

"That's one of the biggest problems. This is bigger than Cheyenne. This is about all teams and all sports and how we handle this and how the school district handles this."

According to Hughes, the reason for the late decision was a four-day weekend for the Clark County School District. The district gave students and staff Monday off in addition to Tuesday's Veterans' Day.

"There was nobody available Monday or Tuesday, because Clark County was on vacation," he said. "There was nobody available to talk to. (CCSD Athletic Director) Bill Garris wasn't even in town. It was impossible for us to do anything until Wednesday, that was the first time we were able to look at film."

Snyder, not surprisingly, disagreed with the rationale.

"Why they waited until Wednesday or Thursday to evaluate the tape, to me that's absurd -- that's not taking care of business," Snyder said. "This decision should have been made long before then. There should be a representative from the NIAA or CCSD at every game, so people know what's going on and taking place."

And beyond the politics, legal challenges, and name-calling, there's a football game to be played.

Peeples is the city's second-leading rusher, hoping to lead the Desert Shields in the upset against Sunset No. 2 seed Centennial. The Bulldogs are led by running back Humberto Marquez, who racked up more than rushing 800 yards this season.

The winner of tonight's game will face undefeated Palo Verde Saturday in the Sunset region final.

"He's really excited about the game, and his opinion about the game, win or lose, he wants the opportunity to play the game," said Peeples' mother.