EUGENE, Ore. — A high school football coach in Oregon was fired on Oct. 9, Wednesday, shortly after his team won a 63-0 game that was called at halftime.
Zach Loboy, the coach at Marist Catholic High School in Eugene, was fired after school officials said the coach ran up the score against Cottage Grove High School, The Oregonian reported.
The Spartans, facing a team that only had 16 players on its roster, attempted a pair of onside kicks, including one after Marist Catholic had gone ahead 56-0 with less than two minutes remaining in the half, according to USA Today.
Although the Spartans (3-3) did not recover the second onside kick, they did return an interception for a touchdown with less than 30 seconds to go before the intermission. Cottage Grove fell to 1-5.
NEW: Marist Catholic (OR) HC Zach Loboy has been fired, believed to be for running up the score to 63-0 against Cottage Grove in the first half, per @KEZI9Sports😮 Loboy had his team kicking onside kicks while up 57-0. (via @MidMajorMedia) https://t.co/LafWzX92BW
— Rivals High School (@RivalsHS) October 14, 2026NEW: Marist Catholic (OR) HC Zach Loboy has been fired, believed to be for running up the score to 63-0 against Cottage Grove in the first half, per @KEZI9Sports😮 Loboy had his team kicking onside kicks while up 57-0. (via @MidMajorMedia) https://t.co/LafWzX92BW
— Rivals High School (@RivalsHS) October 14, 2026
The firing was first reported by the X account of Mid-Major Media X. Jake Lowther will be the team’s interim coach.
“Following Friday’s game against Cottage Grove, we determined that a change in leadership was necessary to reflect our school’s mission and values,” Marist Catholic Principal Bob Fraley wrote in an email to the players’ parents and guardians, according to KATU. “Our priority is to support our players, maintain a positive team environment, and help the team finish the season strong.”
Loboy led Marist Catholic to the Class 4A state title in 2024, The Oregonian reported. The team was undefeated that year, according to The Athletic.
Marist Catholic athletic director Rick Gardner, Cottage Grove athletic director Garrett Bridgens and Lane County Football Association commissioner Mike Whitty decided not to play the second half.
“It wasn’t a forfeit; it wasn’t that our coaches and players did not want to continue,” Bridgens told The Eugene Register-Guard. “We were working in the best interest of our kids, our fans -- the entire situation -- to do what was best for everyone. This was the ADs and the commissioner of officials working together to make that decision.”
Gardner told the newspaper that Loboy’s conduct in the win “is really not reflective of the school’s mission and how we want to treat our opponents.
Marist Catholic High school removed Zach Loboy as head football coach of the Spartans. The decision came after Friday's win over Cottage Grove, where the coaches and officials decided to not play the second half after being down 63-0. https://t.co/CQptVs9S44
— KATU News (@KATUNews) October 14, 2026
“Our athletic program tries to adhere to the mission and the values of Marist Catholic High School,” he told the Register-Guard. “In this particular case, we definitely fell short.”
Fraley told The Athletic in an email on Wednesday that he had no further comment on the situation. A voicemail left with a number listed for Loboy was not immediately responded to, according to the sports news website.
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