California high school football program vacates 2024 championship due to violations
A California high school football program must vacate its 2024 championship and serve a three-year playoff ban due to violations. Narbonne High School won the Los Angeles City Section Open Division title last season. However, they will disown that title after the Los Angeles Unified School District and City Section discovered that the Gauchos violated some eligibility guidelines.
As SI.com’s Tarek Fattal wrote, an official release from the CIF City Section states that Narbonne “violated CIF bylaw 202 (Accurate information) and CIF bylaw 510 (Undue influence, pre-enrollment contact) during the 2024 football season.” These findings were the result of the joint investigation by the school district and California high school football’s governing body.
In addition to relinquishing their championship and their playoff ban, Narbonne will also vacate all victories during the 2024-25 California high school football season. Likewise, their athletic department will be under probation for three years. However, Narbonne can appeal the playoff ban after the 2025-26 season.
Coaches from other Marine League football teams saw this coming after they’d boycott the Gauchos for illegal recruitment practices. They believed that Narbonne used monetary incentives to recruit players.
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The ugly truth started to unravel after seven Narbonne football players became ineligible last November due to fraudulent documents. An investigation by the City Section revealed that multiple families used common addresses and bills to prove residency. Meanwhile, some families declared themselves homeless in the Student Housing Questionnaire.
The ineligible players did not participate during the 2024-25 California high school football postseason. Despite the reduced roster, Narbonne defeated San Pedro for their Open Division title, 75-31, thanks to Oklahoma commit Jaden O’Neal’s six touchdown passes.
However, since that victory, former head coach Malcolm Manuel stepped down and O’Neal transferred to Mustang High School in Oklahoma. Without the forfeitures, Narbonne had a 10-3 record, placing them 160th in the On3 California High School Football Composite Rankings.