Florida High School Football: Miami Central forced to forfeit nine games

One of the top high school football programs in the state of Florida, Miami Central, has been retroactively forced to forfeit nine games this season because of the use of an ineligible player, the Florida High School Athletic Association ruled on Monday.

The Rockets, who are ranked as the state’s No. 4 overall team, were 8-1 on the season and one of the favorites to compete for a Class 3A state championship.

Miami Central self-reported the violation to the FHSAA, according to SI High School’s Andy Villamarzo. In accordance with FHSAA’s bylaw 10.2.1, the Rockets’ record has been changed to 0-9 with the postseason bracket reveal less than a week away.

The team’s only loss of the season came at the hands of No. 7 Lakeland in the opening game of the year, and the Rockets went on to beat state powers American Heritage, Northwestern, and Norland before closing out the regular season last week.

Per the fact findings letter, the ineligible student-athlete entered the 9th grade in 2020-2021 and entered the 2024-2025 school year as a fifth-year student, yet was allowed to play in nine games, violating bylaw 9.5.1.

In addition to the forfeits, the association has also fined Miami Central $900. They’re the second Miami-area team to forfeit games this season — rival Norland had to forfeit its win over American Heritage due to the use of an ineligible player.

Miami Central is a nine-time state champion, including a run of four straight titles from 2019-2022.

Miami Central is the latest Florida high school football team to suffer forfeits

The Rockets are also the second Florida high school program in the past week to have their season effectively ended by the FHSAA.

On Saturday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that The First Academy (TFA) was found guilty of multiple rule violations. As a result, the Royals will be on restrictive probation until Dec. 20, 2025. That decision means forfeiting all their wins during this year’s Florida high school football season and having to sit out the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.

TFA was guilty of reaching out to players unenrolled in their school, allowing unenrolled players to compete for them during summer tournaments, and offering ride-hailing services to players not yet enrolled.

In addition to these violations, the school must pay $36,000 in fines and assistant coach Steven Moffett was banned from coaching until Oct. 31, 2025.

The Royals won six consecutive games to start the season and were 9-1 heading into the playoff selection, where they would’ve been one of the top seeds in Class 1A.