Known VHSL forfeits


2007 :

Wed. Sept. 12, 9 a.m. : Wow... where do I start. I've already seen more forfeits in the first month of this season than I did in ALL of last season. Most of them are from neighboring states and don't affect the VA power ratings, but a couple of them are important.

First, out in Region A, Arcadia has forfeited their season-opening 34-26 upset-win over Nandua on Aug. 30th, according to the Eastern Shore News (which apparently could use some good help, since they got the date wrong and don't have a clue how to score a forfeit).

The next biggie comes from WV, where AAA powerhouse Martinsburg has forfeited their first 2 wins, against Morgantown and Potomac Falls (VA), according to Hagerstown Maryland's Herald-Mail and The Journal from Martinsburg.

Also in WV, Oak Hill has forfeited their win over in-county rival Fayetteville, according to Beckley's Register-Herald.

Appeals on all of the WV forfeits will be heard on Oct. 11th.

Down in NC, The Courier=Times from Roxboro says Person forfeited their wins over Walter Williams AND (Oxford) Webb, which doen't help Halifax Co. any.

And a number of other schools have forfeited season-opening wins, including West Stokes (to East Surry), (Wilson) Beddingfield (to Northern Nash), Albemarle (to East Montgomery) and Mount Pleasant (to Hickory Ridge, which had lost their pigskin debut 57-0).


2006 :

I received word from Charlottesville on Nov. 6th that Montcalm (WV) has forfeited their season-opening win over Big Creek (WV), which changes the ratings for Bland Co. and Twin Valley. The only mention I could find of this was a mid-Sept. story in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.


Mon. Oct. 23, 7 p.m. : According to an Oct. 12th article in the Gloucester Gazette Journal, Mathews (A - Tidewater) has had to forfeit their only win at that time (on Sept. 8th vs. Middlesex) for using in ineligible player.


Now a comment of some out of state goings-on.

Earlier thus season, Matewan (WV) had to forfeit 3 games (including 1 to Shelby Valley, Ky, which played Grundy a while back). The Tigers appealed those forfeits on the grounds that the player deserved a "hardship" waiver for an extra year of eligibility, which was granted. However, another player's transfer caused two of those games (inc. SV) to be "re-forfeited". An appeal overturned those forfeits, and all of Matewan's games are now back to their original status, based on the final scores.



2005 :

Wed. Nov. 16, 8 p.m. : WAVY-TV, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (copy) & the AP reported last Thursday that Landstown used an ineligible player and has forfeited 4 games : to Tallwood (9/2), Ocean Lakes (10/7), Salem-VB (10/14) and First Colonial (10/21).

Their appeal was heard by the VHSL Monday afternoon. Armed with documents falsified by the student, and the knowledge (possibly supplied via e-mail by someone who keeps up with these things ??) that a similar thing happened 2 years ago to Roanoke's William Fleming (whose self-imposed forfeits were re-instated, according to the Roanoke Times), Landstown won their appeal, according to stories in the Newport News Daily Press ( copy), WAVY-TV, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, the AP, the Richmond Times Dispatch and the VHSL.


11/2/05 : According to articles in today's Washington Examiner and Washington Post, Oakton (Div. 6, Northern Region) may have used an ineligible player this season. The Fairfax Connection says the eligibility of former Redskin Darrell Green's son is being challenged based on residency.

A week later, the Washington Post and the Washington Examiner (which has already removed the story) reported that a Fairfax Co. school official determined everything was OK and no forfeits were required.


10/24/05 : According to an article in Friday's Harlan Daily News, the KHSAA has given Betsy Layne a forfeit win over Cumberland (from Sept. 2nd), which changes the power points for Haysi & Thomas Walker. Will keep an eye out for more info. on this.

11/02/05 : Also found it mentioned, with no more details, in the Floyd County Times.


off-season forfeit news


First, a follow-up on the final VHSL forfeit from 2004.

A Nov. 12th story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch says Group AAA school Monacan (now 2-8) forfeited their (Oct. 15th) win over George Wythe-Richmond (now 1-9) for using an academically ineligible player. (Strange, these 2 teams were also involved in a near-forfeit 3 years ago.)

Next, a couple of Kentucky forfeit items.

An April 15th, 2005 article in Louisville's Courier-Journal says Ky. AAA state champ (Fort Thomas) Highlands had to forfeit a dozen of their wins (but not their title) for using an ineligible player last season. I've got more info. here.

The same April 15th article in the Louisville Courier-Journal said Prestonsburg had to forfeit all 12 games from 2003 for using an ineligible player (they were 7-5 ... first time I can remember seeing a high school forced to forfeit games they'd lost). This was first mentioned in a Jan. 14th story from the Louisa (KY) paper.


Next, an old VHSL forfeit that came back to life in late 2004.

The minutes from the VHSL's Executive Committee meeting on December 8, 2004 said they denied a request by New Kent to have their previous football forfeits reviewed, but I couldn't find where any forfeits had been declared to start with.

Then, a Feb. 27th, 2005 article in the Newport News Daily Press says the appeal was for the 1999 season (they figured if Bird could win an appeal, maybe they could, too).

Here's a 2003 non-forfeit story I had on the 2004 News page :
The Nov. 21st, 2003 edition of the Roanoke Times reported that playoff member William Fleming used a possibly-ineligible player in every game last year. Seems the kid (who lived in the Patrick Henry school district) enrolled at Fleming using a fake address. The VHSL basically said that since no one from Fleming actually checked the address, they were not at fault, and no sanctions were levied against the Colonels.


Finally, some older forfeit items I ran across while "house-cleaning" this Summer.

From 2002, the Martinsville Bulletin : Brookville didn't have to forfeit their Sept. 13th, 2002 win vs. Bassett. The Bees' Sportscombine.com page has photocopies of the stories that were in the Lynchburg News-Advance on 9/25 & 10/5.

Also from 2002, the Martinsville Bulletin said GW-Danville had to forfeit their 9 wins from 2001 for using an ineligible player. Since I couldn't find anything else about it, I contacted their radio guy, Chuck Vipperman, who told me that it involved a student who had transfered out, then back in, and had failed an LPT.


2004 :

Wed., Dec. 8 : Here's an interesting tidbit.

When the football master schedule comes out in the Summer, I double-check it and correspond with the VHSL about problems and mistakes, especially the out-of-state stuff, since I keep up with the eastern Ky. & upper-east Tenn. teams that play Va. schools. When they post an update, I'll double-check it again. This goes on for about a month.

A problem that apparently lingered was that Betsy Layne's KHSAA schedule and results didn't match the schedule the Bobcats sent to the VHSL. After the season ended, Ken Crowder posted a story on another regional website that someone else had noticed this too and contacted the VHSL about it. My guesses are :
1.) The "problem" was reported by an LPD school (J.J. Kelly also played Betsy Layne, Pound finished just behind Hurley in the ratings, and J.I. Burton was the team Hurley had in the 1st round of the playoffs), and
2.) The Knott Co. Central game slipped underneath everyone's radar because :
a.) the people who keep up with the ratings points usually only look to see if a particular out-of-state team WON, and
b.) The loss meant Hurley's ratings points weren't affected.

As usual, the VHSL didn't make their decision public. The only stuff posted on their Press Release page since March was a couple of early Nov. stories on the L.C. Bird forfeit fiasco.

Of course, as you may have noticed, none of this changed anything for Hurley.

After listening to Crowder ramble on the radio down in Big Stone this season (he thought the school on Slate Creek was Unaka - it's Grundy), I'm not surprised to see him confused about how the "VSHL" awards points when a "Division II school" gets beat. But to think that Hurley's points would be divided by 11 games is beyond belief.

(NOTE - June, 2005 : I just noticed in some old KHSAA info that Betsy Layne had "withdrawn from competition" prior to the 2004 season, so they apparently weren't limited to playing 10 games.)


Speaking of the Bluegrass state, they ran into a problem similar to what we saw a couple of years back - a state finalist using an ineligible player in the semis.

The Middlesboro Daily News reports that the team that beat Bell Co. (a recent Lee Co. foe) in the Ky. state semis used an ineligible player this season, based on a court ruling that overruled the KHSAA ruling on his transfer. More info. can be found here



Fri., Nov. 12 : Gotta love the Richmond Times Dispatch. Now that "Bird-gate" is over, they mention that Monacan has forfeited a game. But they buried it in a playoff scenario story and didn't say who gets the win.

Here's the VHSL press releases on Bird.


Thur., Nov. 11 : Wow, I've seen it all now. The VHSL has overturned a ruling made last week by the Executive Committee, so Richmond's L.C. Bird will NOT have to forfeit 4 games. See stories in the Richmond Times Dispatch and from the Associated Press.
Heck, this was even big enough to make it into today's Roanoke Times, since they've seen a lot of forfeits (and one favorable ruling) over the last few years.


Tues., Nov. 9 : The VHSL Executive Committee decided last week that L.C. Bird H.S. of Richmond will have to forfeit their first four wins, according to articles in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday and Tuesday. An appeal will be heard on Wed.


An Oct. 22nd story from Cox.net says LC Bird will not forfeit any games, but a story the following week in the Richmond Times Dispatch said that a county school official sent the info to the VHSL, where the Executive Committee will review it and make a decision.

So, the VHSL finally got around to it, and guess what? Today's RTD says a decision has been made, but won't be announced until Monday.

Note : This ruling won't effect the ratings for anyone in Regions IV, III, D or C.


August : Why wait ??? Beat the rush !!! Here's a pre-season forfeit for ya.
The WVSSAC webpage with the Group AAA schedules shows the Sept. 10th Parkersburg South vs. Warren (Ohio) game as a forfeit, with South now playing Westland, Ohio on 9/10 in a game that doesn't count. (I haven't found any other info on this anywhere.)


2003 :

A Dec. 11th story in the Martinsburg (WV) Journal, which also ran on the AP Wire in Va., said that Jefferson (WV) had to forfeit their only two wins of the year, vs. Hedgesville (WV) & Sherando, for using an academically ineligible player.

Here's a non-forfeit for ya : The Nov. 21st edition of the Roanoke Times reported that playoff member William Fleming used a "possibly" ineligible player in every game last year. Seems the kid lived in the Patrick Henry school district, but enrolled at Fleming using a fake address. The VHSL basically said that since no one from Fleming actually checked the address, they were not at fault, so no sanctions were levied against the Colonels.

The Nov. 16th edition of the Suffolk News-Herald said Nansemond River had to forfeit their Oct. 17th win over Great Bridge.

Nov. 13th & 21st non-archived articles from the Newport News Daily Press said Brunswick decided to forfeit their Nov. 14th make-up game against York.

This may or may not be a forfeit... In the Nov. 7th state AP Wire scoreboard, Norcum beat Churchland 2-0. I have found no mention of the game anywhere online or on either school's website.

A Nov. 1st article in Harrisonburg's Daily News-Record (along with a non-archived article from the Charlottesville Daily Progress) said Spotswood forfeited their 19-14 win over Charlottesville on Sept. 5th.

The Oct. 11th edition of the Suffolk News-Herald said that Maury had to forfeit their opening day victory over Lakeland.

The Centreville Wildcats (Group AAA) were forced to forfeit their season-opening win over West Springfield due to using an "ineligible" player who transferred from Park View back in April. Seems the Concorde District Council approved the paperwork but forgot to forward it to the VHSL before the season started. Centreville's first appeal was denied, but a different (and seemingly better) appeal was filed, but the VHSL wouldn't overturn the decision. See Oct. 2nd and 6th articles in the NoVa Connection papers; Oct. 2nd , 8th and 9th stories in the Fairfax Journal, and the Nov. 5th Washington Post .


Her's an interesting story from the Nov. 7th Washington Post. A D.C. school had to forfeit 3 wins for using an ineligible player which the DCIAA had previously said was eligible, but only because the school submitted an incorrect form.


And finally, here's why I hate getting scores second-handed (from the Steubenville, Ohio Herald-Star ).



2002 :

According to a Dec. 12th article in the Roanoke Times, Magna Vista had to forfeit all 9 of their regular season wins, plus 2 post-season wins, for using an ineligible player. The unnamed student was found to be in violation of the semester rule which means he had exceeded his alloted 8 consecutive semesters of eligibility). The mistake in the student's record was found when the winter eligibility lists were being checked.

According to a Nov. 10th article in the Roanoke Times, Nelson Co. forfeited their win over Altavista for using an ineligible player.

According to an Oct. 16th article in the Norfolk Virginian- Pilot Online, Menchville had to forfeit all 3 of their wins so far (to Churchland, Bethel & Gloucester).
The Newport News Daily Press said the player had transferred from Woodside after moving in with his Aunt over the Summer.

According to an Oct. 5th article in the Roanoke Times, E.C. Glass had to forfeit their first 3 wins of the season for the same violation as Magna Vista.



2001 :

Mon. Oct. 22 : According to a story in todays' Richmond Times-Dispatch, George Wythe (Richmond) forfeited last weekends's scheduled Homecoming game to Monacan due to a mix-up in the starting time, leading to the inability to get adequate security for the game.

B U T     W A I T ! ! !

Fri., Nov. 9 : According to a story yesterday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Monacan @ George Wythe (R) forfeit will come off the books as the teams have agreed to make up the game Tuesday night at Monacan (Wythe doesn't have a field).




2000 :

In April, 2001, The Roanoke Times and the Lexington News-Gazette reported that Rockbridge Co. had to forfeit all 3 of their 2000 season football wins because of an academically ineligible player, who only took 4 new classes during the Fall term. Picking up wins were Covington, Parry McCluer & Christiansburg.


Nov. 4 : 11 forfeits detailed below

According to articles in today's Coalfield Progress and Bristol Herald Courier, Clintwood used an ineligible player for 4 downs against Haysi in week 2 and has to forfeit the win, helping Haysi make the playoffs.

Earlier this week, the Roanoke Times said that Cave Spring forfeited their first 6 games (wins against RVD rivals William Fleming & Franklin Co., and Group AA teams Jefferson Forest, Northside, Blacksburg & Salem).
A player transferred away mid-season, and a routine check of his records showed that he received credit last Spring for a foreign language course he repeated for a better grade. While this is okay under the state BOE standards, it isn't when it comes to sports eligibility under VHSL guidelines.
Cave Spring's appeals to the Roanoke Valley District, the VHSL's executive director, the league's appeals committee and an independent hearing officer (an attorney) were all denied.
And, according to WDBJ's FFE, Northside has said it will refuse the forfeit from the Knights. (I wonder what that did to their record officialy?)

And let's remember the Titans.
According to an article in the Oct. 23rd issue of The Washington Post, T.C. Williams (AAA - Patriot) has forfeited its first two games, wins over Robert E. Lee-Springfield & Mount Vernon, for using a player who is in his 9th semester of high school. The VHSL only lets students participate in athletics during the first 8 semesters.

Ahhh, those darned state tests. According to articles in the Sept. 27th issue of The Washington Post and the Sept. 29th issue of the Winchester Star , Strasburg (A - Bull Run) has forfeited their wins over East Hardy, WV (9/1) and Group AAA new-comer Westfield (9/8) because one of their players failed his Literacy Passport test.



I'm glad I don't do this for West Va, too. Things over there are pretty bad. Anyone who has studied the VHSL Master Schedule closely would notice a lot of problems with the schedules which were submitted by WV.

Take Bluefield, for example. They re-arranged 3 of their last 4 games, playing Richlands on Oct. 20. And Graham's game with Mount View was moved back 7 weeks. Mount View and Matewan only played 4 of the 10 games on the date they submitted.

The following is a synopsis of an article which appeared in the Sept. 20th edition of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Last season, Tolsia (AA) got beat-up by Logan (AAA), losing by 36 and having two players suffer serious injuries. Over the Summer, they discussed dropping this year's game.
Tolsia picked up Guyan Valley as a replacement, but Logan couldn't find anyone, so the Wildcats asked Tolsia to honor the contract, which they refused to do. So, the SSAC comes in and rules that Tolsia must forfeit the game to Logan. And since Guyan Valley would put Tolsia over the 10-game limit, they aren't allowed to play it.

Also, Big Creek and Burch were to play on Oct. 20th. I'm not sure of the exact details here, but Burch then scheduled a game against Tug Valley for that night. But Big Creek and Burch got things straightened out... they'll play each other, and Tug Valley picked up Matewan that night, even though the Tigers were originally set to play Duval.

Speaking of Matewan, their game against Tug was moved to Sat. when long-time Asst. Coach Blaine Pruitt passed away Thur. night, losing his battle with cancer.



Cumberland High School (Region B, James River District) dropped their program midway through the season, forfeiting their final 5 games.

And out on the coast, a weird hurricane-delayed forfeit has been recorded.
According to the Rappahannock Record, a Sept. 17th game between Windsor and Northumberland was supposed to be made up on Tues., Nov. 2nd. However, Northumberland has been hit hard with injuries, having to put in JV players to finish out their previous game. So, with a possibly winable district game left on the schedule, Northumberland gave the game to Windsor.

But remember, most of the forfeits over the past 3 years have been announced the week the playoffs start. And the VHSL can make changes right up until the opening kickoff, so stay alert.