While “ running up the score” is not good sportsmanship, a good team thrashing a poor team should not be penalized. If they can only score 4 points in a game, why would they even schedule the game ( unless district ). Is the winning coach supposed to tell his players not to score, purposely let the other team score? Smh
A lot depends on the level the game is being played. Back in the dark ages, when the ONLY clock was kept on the field, WE had a lot more control over how it was run. Back then in a game where the halftime score was in the upper 40's, and the teams were TOTALLY unmatched. I told the LJ (4man crew) 2 TDs or 10 minutes, whichever comes first ends a quarter. The dominant team scored on it's first 2 possessions, End of Quarter 3. The dominant coach finally got the idea, and substituted his starters (who were playing the entire game).
The game ended with a really quick 4th quarter, no additional scoring (for either team) somewhere in the 70s-0 final score, and nobody had to go home and tell their parents they lost 100+ to 0. Hopefully that winning coach learned that winning 70+ to 0 can be as satisfying as totally destroying & embarrassing another team. What goes around, often comes back around.