cathedral high school touchdown, penalty Matthew Owens raises his arm as he heads for the end zone (Image courtesy: YouTube)

BOSTON (CBS) – A touchdown celebration cost a Boston high school team a championship over the weekend.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Carl Stevens reports

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As Cathedral High School played Blue Hills in the Massachusetts Division 4A Super Bowl Saturday, quarterback Matthew Owens ran the ball in for a fourth quarter touchdown and what appeared to be a game-winner.

But just before he reached the end zone, Owens was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct-excessive celebration for putting his left hand in the air.

Watch: The Play

The ball was brought back to the 24-yard line and moments later Owens threw an interception and Cathedral ended up losing 16-to-14.

WBZ-TV’s Paul Burton reports

The quarterback’s father, Kenneth Owens, suggests that the referee had a personal agenda against his son.

“They could have counted the touchdown which was not in question and they could have penalized them on the kickoff. And there’s no one on either side that would have had a problem with that,” Owens said.

Students at Cathedral say it’s sad to see their perfect 12-0 season come to such and disappointing end, but what parents and coaches are most proud of is how the players conducted themselves in this championship loss.

It would have been Cathedral’s first Super Bowl win in school history.

But, before the game, both teams were warned about unnecessary celebrations.

The MIAA is looking into the penalty.

The school wants to know more about the rules, so something like this never happens again.