Bad Sport?

EVERYTHING WAS going much too well for coach Dan Lawrence (below) of East Hartford (Conn.) High in the second half against Fermi-Enfield on Sept. 29. So as his team continued to put up points, he tried, he says, to apply the brakes, playing only reserves and calling inside running plays. With nine minutes to go in the third quarter and the score 52-0, "I tell my quarterback to take a knee," says Lawrence. "The kid looks at me like I'm crazy. After that I decided not to do it, because I thought I was humiliating the other coach even more." The Hornets finally beat Fermi-Enfield 60-0, and Lawrence became the first coach suspended under Connecticut 's new sportsmanship rule, which requires the coach of a team that wins by 50 or more to sit out the next game. (Coach Dave Cadelina of Bridgeport Central previously had his suspension overturned on appeal [SI, Sept. 19].) Last Saturday, as East Hartford beat Wethersfield 42-38, Lawrence was on the road, scouting a future opponent.