HS Awaits NCHSAA Ruling on Possible Forfeits

GREENSBORO — Page High School has submitted a report to the N.C. High School Athletic Association regarding the two football players who were academically ineligible for the first three games of the season, but those games haven't been officially declared forfeits yet.

That would happen after the NCHSAA's staff reviews the report and issues a ruling, which is expected this week.

Meanwhile, Guilford County Schools is expecting to complete a review of the eligibility of all fall sports athletes at Page by Sept. 28, county athletics director Leigh Hebbard wrote in an email Monday.

"At this time, no other ineligible athletes have been discovered," Hebbard wrote.

And an interim athletics director is expected to be hired by Oct. 1, Hebbard said. Rusty Lee, who has been Page's athletics director since October 1991, said last week that he is retiring effective that day.

Under NCHSAA rules, the penalty for the use of ineligible students is forfeiture of any contests for which they were in uniform, regardless of whether they played. GCS has not released the names of the players because of privacy laws.

The NCHSAA ruling could include a fine. James Alverson, an NCHSAA assistant commissioner, said those fines typically range from $100 to $1,000 per infraction.

"Fines are very case-detail specific," Alverson wrote in an email Monday.

"The school has an opportunity to appeal to the NCHSAA Executive Committee or the full Board of Directors for any part or all of a violation/penalty that was imposed," Alverson added.

Since GCS officials reported the violations, Page is not expected to appeal the forfeiture of victories over Davie County on Aug. 17, Northern Guilford on Aug. 24 and Dudley on Aug. 31. The ineligible players did not dress for the Pirates' 37-22 win over Eastern Guilford on Sept. 7.

The three forfeits would leave Page with a 1-4 record heading into Friday night's game at Southern Guilford (0-4). With a full four-game Metro 4-A Conference schedule to play, as well as two more non-conference games, the Pirates still have a good chance of qualifying for the NCHSAA playoffs, but the forfeits would negatively affect their seeding for the postseason.

Contact Joe Sirera at 336-373-7034, and follow @JoeSireraNR on Twitter.

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