Monday, Sept. 28, 2015: Another social media faux pas that was avoidable

   Leading off today: The latest lesson on the perils of social media comes from the University of Notre Dame, where a former New York standout landed himself deep in the doghouse.

   Sophomore defensive tackle Jay Hayes out of Poly Prep began serving a two-game suspension imposed by football coach Brian Kelly over the weekend. It was the result of unflattering tweets he fired off about the team's coaching staff.

   Hayes deleted the tweets shortly after they were posted, but screen shots show two posts in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The first read: "When a coach stops coaching you that's when you jus(t) gotta move on." The second read: "Gotta get this natty and I'm out," apparently referring to a national championship this season.

   Hayes reportedly has been unhappy about being unable to earn a spot on the field so far this season. The fact that he's been unable to crack a lineup depleted by graduation, unfavorable eligibility rulings and injuries quite possibly says more about Hayes' ability than is does about his coaches' competence.

   "There has to be responsibility as it relates to social media and you have to think before you hit 'send,'" Kelly said. "What you have to do is knock on my door instead of hitting the 'send' button. These are good lessons to be learned.

   "If he has a job at Google and he talks about his boss that way, he's probably not going to have a job the next day. You try to use them as life lessons."

   The perils of the road? Let me start by saying I've got no problem with it if you decide to write off Darren Cooper's column as homer-ism, a simple case of sour grapes by someone whose team came out on the short end of the final score. I've seen that happen a few times in the media and was probably guilty of it myself more than once during my career as a newspaper reporter.

   Problem is, it's not wise to automatically discount what Cooper wrote Sunday for NorthJersey.com. I've read his stuff before, and he's a knowledgeable reporter with a wealth of experience when it comes to big-time scholastic football. (An aside: If you think Cal-Mum vs. LeRoy or Forks vs. Valley constitutes big-time scholastic football, you can safely stop reading now.)

   Cooper attended Saturday's game in Buffalo as Canisius played DePaul Catholic, and he raised questions about the officiating after the New Jersey school's 17-14 loss. DePaul was called for 16 penalties for 155 yards compared to 10 for 80 yards by Canisius.

   When I read The Buffalo News' game story Sunday, it was obvious that penalties played an important role in the game -- starting with DePaul having an 80-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage called back on a holding call.

   But Cooper's column goes into substantial detail in laying out some instances in which DePaul might have had a grievance. I'm not sold on him being absolutely right in both his details and his conclusions, but then again I wasn't there to witness the game. In light of that and in the context of a few things I've seen over the years in intersectional showdowns while covering New York sports, his column deserves a few minutes of your time.

RoadToSyracuse.com football site

   Left over from late Saturday: Matt Catalano's pass to Kevin Blank on a 2-point conversion play gave Brewster a 51-50 win over John Jay Cross River in a double-overtime football game.

   JJCR had taken a 50-43 lead to start the second OT as Hunter Keech scored from a yard out and Perry Shelbred kicked the extra point. The Bears answered with a 7-yard scoring run by Jack Guida, and Brewster then played for the win. Catalano escaped pressure and found Blank in the left side of the end zone with the pass.

   Keech, in his first game back after missing the last two games with an injury, ran 28 times for 206 yards and three TDs, completed 12 of 23 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown, and had three catches for 16 yards. He also made an interception on defense.

   Cause of death determined: A star New Jersey quarterback who collapsed after taking a hit on the field died from internal bleeding caused by a lacerated spleen, according to autopsy results.

   The Morris County medical examiner's office found that Evan Murray's spleen was "abnormally enlarged," making it more susceptible to injury. There was no evidence of head trauma or heart disease, officials said.

   Nearly 800 people donated over $36,000 in just one day to a GoFundMe account created by a teen friend in memory of the 17-year-old QB. The money will go toward Murray's funeral expenses and to help a member of the family who has cancer.

   Extra points: Grand Street football coach Bruce Eugene's suspension was cut from three games to two and he will be eligible to return to the sideline next weekend, the NYSSWA's Joe Glus reports.