A fractured jaw, angry parents, and death threats: Fury follows late hit in Fish Bowl
Tempers flared at the annual “Fish Bowl” rivalry game between Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools on Friday night after a late hit sent Gig Harbor Tides quarterback Koi Calhoun to the hospital with a broken jaw.
Video footage from the play, which occurred just before halftime at Roy Anderson Field, shows two Peninsula players running toward Calhoun after he threw an interception, which was returned past midfield. The first player pushes Calhoun backward — a normal, legal block and common play during an interception return — but the second player lifts Calhoun up and slams him into the ground, well after the play had ended. The play drew a personal foul late hit penalty.
What happened next is unclear. No currently available videos show what happened between the Peninsula player and Calhoun after the late hit. Video from Peninsula’s film staff cuts off after the tackle is made. On a video from the NFHS network — a paid, live streaming service where fans can watch high school games live or on-demand — the video feed is zoomed in on where the ball is; the late hit occurs off camera. In that video, Gig Harbor players can be seen urgently running toward the altercation after the play had been whistled dead.
Calhoun’s parents, Katie and Mitch, allege the Peninsula player began punching Calhoun after his helmet came off.
“The play was over, they were 30 yards away from the ball,” Mitch Calhoun said. “We’re OK when football happens. We understand that within the game, there’s a chance of injury. It’s these late hits, these intentional things after the fact that are scary.”
Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said the players got “face-to-face” with each other after the hit. Whether there was punching, tangled shoving or no further contact at all after the hit is unclear.
Whatever happened, it ended with Calhoun lying on the turf for some time. Trainers tended to Calhoun while he was down, but approximately 10 minutes passed before on-scene paramedics arrived and began tending to him. The reason for the delay? They were already occupied tending to another student.
“The aid car was busy dealing with an intoxicated student in a porta potty,” said Gig Harbor police chief Kelly Busey, who happened to be working the Fish Bowl. “They were delayed being able to get on the field.”
It took approximately 30 minutes to get Calhoun onto a stretcher, through the crowd and off the field, onto the ambulance and transported to Tacoma General Hospital. The ambulance couldn’t reach the field due to the massive crowd surrounding the field’s track. The Fish Bowl annually attracts thousands of fans, creating logistical challenges at Roy Anderson Field, which isn’t equipped with enough seating to accommodate crowds of that size.
“They didn’t drive the ambulance onto the field and provide the medical privacy that should’ve been provided for our son,” Katie Calhoun said. “And it’s critical medical time. Our son had to suffer laying on the field for so long.”
Calhoun sustained a concussion, had an open fracture of his jaw and a displaced tooth, broken and shoved up into his jaw.
“How do you do that with a helmet on?” Mitch Calhoun said. “This isn’t hockey.”
Filkins said the Peninsula player who returned the interception was also injured on the play, and his focus in the moment was on his injured player. Coaches on both sides exchanged heated words during the break in play and again, tempers flared at the postgame handshake line, made more chaotic by Gig Harbor Tides fans rushing the field to celebrate the win.
In a game story on Gig Harbor Now, Gig Harbor coach Darrin Reeves seemed to insinuate dirty plays have been an ongoing problem in the Fish Bowl.
“Over the years the same stuff has happened … tonight our guys got tired of it,” Reeves said. “They got tired of seeing their brothers down on the field. The only thing we could do about it was on the scoreboard and that’s what we did.”
Reeves and Gig Harbor High School athletic director Blair Suek declined to comment to The News Tribune for this story. Filkins, who has been the head coach at Peninsula for 29 years, is well respected in the state’s high school football circles. He said he feels insulted by some of the insinuations and rumors flying around in the wake of the incident.
“I would hope anybody that knows me, has coached against me for 29 years, knows that I would never coach a player to hurt somebody or that we would celebrate that,” Filkins said. “I find anybody’s accusations of that to be really unprofessional and disheartening to the game of football. Our hearts were pouring out for that Gig Harbor player.
“I did my best to help the situation. We brought our medical staff over to stabilize the scene. We worked with our event staff to take care of the scene. We’re hoping for a speedy recovery.”
After a stay at the Tacoma General emergency room, Calhoun was transported to a Gig Harbor medical facility, where he underwent a successful two-hour surgery on Saturday afternoon.
“To save any piece of natural tooth, it had to be done within 12 hours,” said Katie Calhoun. “We are immensely thankful for the people that stepped up to make that happen.”
Tempers have flared off the field, too. Filkins said his players have been receiving death threats on social media and is concerned for their safety. District officials also said they were aware of two threats to students and the involved parties have been disciplined.
The Calhoun family filed a police report with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department over the weekend. The statement given to police matches what they told The News Tribune, according to sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss. They are weighing the possibility of legal action.
“We’ve been (around) football our whole lives,” Mitch Calhoun said. “We’re aware of the risks that come with playing football. This is not something that happened in the play of the game.”
“It definitely was an attack,” Katie Calhoun said.
After Calhoun exited the game, tight end Benji Park took over at QB for Gig Harbor, leading the Tides to a 21-20 come-from-behind win. It snapped Peninsula’s seven-game winning streak in the series.
Response from Peninsula School District
The Peninsula School District told the News Tribune it is investigating the in-game injury and other student- and staff-related events during the Fish Bowl game.
“When a student athlete is injured during an event, it reminds us about the importance of safety and our community support,” the district said in a statement to The News Tribune Monday. “ … We have dedicated athletic staff at all of our secondary schools, and we continue to support the staff, families, and fans to provide the best sports programs for our students.
“To protect the rights and privacy of our students and their families, no public comments will be made regarding the details of this investigation.”
The News Tribune asked district spokesperson Danielle Chastaine Monday if the district plans to change its approach to crowd control and safety for future events. Chastaine responded with the statement from the district, which said that will be determined after the investigation is complete.
District and school officials, law enforcement, first responders, and the district’s two new school safety officers were at the game.
“Safety and security barriers were in place to protect our students and fans, and administrators were in constant contact with each other during the entirety of the event,” the statement said. “We are grateful for the support and effort of our first responders who were on call during Friday’s game.”
Staff reporter Aspen Shumpert contributed to this report
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments from the Peninsula School District.
This story was originally published September 18, 2023 at 1:31 PM.
