BY JEFF FALK
It took two months, but the South Annville police department has field charges in a helmet swinging incident that occurred during the September 6th Hamburg at Annville-Cleona scholastic football game.
In a short statement released by South Annville chief Ben Sutcliffe recently, it was announced that the charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct had been field. A portion of the release stated, ‘due to the case involving juveniles, no other information will be released’, but the statement did not reveal how many people were charged or who specifically was charged.
During the third quarter of the non-league contest between the Hawks and Little Dutchmen at Annville-Cleona Stadium, which is located in South Annville township, an on-field scuffle broke out. In a video of the incident captured by WGAL-TV 8, Hamburg senior/quarterback Joseph Comiskey appears to rip the helmet off Annville-Cleona lineman Josh Hartman and strike Hartman twice with it on his head.
Hartman appears to be lying on the ground at the time, and then grabs his head, before walking off the field. Hartman endured a cut to his scalp, but did return to action, after being cleared by A-C’s on-field medical staff.
“We have been in communication with the district attorney of Lebanon County since the incident, and we were aware of the fact that the charges were going to be filed in juvenile court,” Allan Sodomsky, an attorney representing Comiskey, told the Reading Eagle . “We are and have been working with the district attorney to resolve this matter, and this is the beginning of that process.”
Comiskey was ejected from the game, as was Annville-Cleona senior Taylor Prentice, who allegedly threw punches following the helmet swinging incident.
Comiskey and Prentice were suspended from their team’s next games, per Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association rules. Comiskey sat out another Hamburg game as part of a school suspension, but did return to the field on September 27.
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