Top-Ranked H.S. Team In Alabama Forced To Forfeit 9 Wins This Season

October 27, 2011 /
Birmingham News, Jeff Sentell
http://highschoolsports.al.com/news/article/-4096220740953875718/top-ranked-clay-chalkville-forced-to-forfeit-nine-games/

Clay-Chalkville High School passed out its Class 6A, Region 7 championship shirts on Wednesday. The Cougars also looked at their 9-0 record and celebrated their football team climbing to the top ranking of the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 6A poll in the regular season for the first time in school history.

The euphoria came to a halt at 4:25 p.m. with a letter from the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

The AHSAA ruled the Cougars used an ineligible player during all nine of those wins. Pending an appeal Friday, the Cougars are now 0-9. Oxford is the new region champ, Austin is second, Hewitt-Trussville is third and Gadsden City has new playoff life after being eliminated last week.

Clay-Chalkville was fined $300, placed on probation for one year and ordered to forfeit the nine wins for violating AHSAA eligibility rules.

Cougars coach Jerry Hood declined comment on Wednesday as did Jefferson County Athletics Director Ken Storie. The county system will discuss the matter at a press conference today.

The AHSAA ruled that the Cougars used a transfer player who joined the program while still under disciplinary action from his previous school, according to Huffman High football coach Willie Ford. 

Ford said the player had been at Huffman last season. 

AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said rules require “that all students must be in good standing when they transfer from a previous school. Clay-Chalkville is in violation of that rule.” 

Ford did not name the player, but did provide a reason for his departure from Huffman. 

“From what I understand the kid in question was dismissed from the Birmingham school system,” Ford said. “He got into some trouble and went to Restoration (Academy.) He called and told me that he got everything straight at Restoration and had transferred to Clay.” 

Ford said the player left the Birmingham system after a major, one-time rules violation. 

“The kid is a good kid,” Ford said. “But he got caught up in something that he had no business doing.” 

The AHSAA ruling was based on a bylaw that reads: “Any student who is under temporary suspension or whose character or conduct is such as to bring discredit upon the school is not eligible. A student’s attendance, attitude and classroom efforts must be acceptable to the school in which the student is enrolled. A transfer student must be in good standing with the student’s previous school.” 

There’s no mention in that bylaw about all previous schools a student has attended, just the previous school. 

Ford said he is angry at the school that reported the situation to the AHSAA, which did not identify that school. Ford said no member of his coaching staff did so. 

“I’m mad as (heck),” Ford said. “That player that they are in trouble for did not make one (darn) bit of difference to the football team that they have over there. They beat us fair and square.” 

Clay-Chalkville beat Huffman 55-6 last week. Ford believes the Cougars are a state championship caliber team.

“Somebody somewhere does not have any integrity,” he said. “They don’t understand what this decision means to those Clay-Chalkville kids. To do this now? This destroys those kids. I cannot believe somebody turned them in at this point of the season.” 

Clay plans to appeal that ruling to the Central Board of Control on Friday at 10 a.m. at the AHSAA office in Montgomery. 

The decision sends ripples throughout the AH-SAA playoff structure in terms of tiebreakers. Every team that Clay-Chalkville defeated this season will now get credit for a win by forfeit. 

Pending a reversal, the Cougars will play their final game of the season tonight at Spain Park. 

Savarese was visibly shaken by the events. “I’m heartbroken,” he said.


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