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Two Texas high school football teams forced to forfeit games for using ineligible players

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by:Keegan Pope•11/06/24•

bykeeganpope

On3-HS-Texas

Two more Texas high school football teams will forfeit multiple wins this season after using ineligible players.

On Tuesday, DCTF’s Matt Stepp reported that Cedar Hill Trinity Christian used three players who were not eligible to play and will forfeit each of the team’s eight victories. The Tigers were 8-1 prior to the ruling and ranked No. 144 in the state of Texas according to the On3 Massey Ratings. They were also primed to play in the Class 3A Division II playoffs.

While there were questions of whether the team would appeal the ruling, Stepp confirmed that Cedar Hill TLC would not challenge the District Executive Committee’s ruling to the UIL, the state’s governing board.

Cedar Hill Trinity is the alma mater of current Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and safety Shilo Sanders, sons of Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. Deion Sanders was previously the offensive coordinator at Trinity.

The Tigers still have a game remaining on their schedule this weekend against Dallas Inspired Vision, the status of which remains unknown.

They are not the only team to have issues with ineligible players, though. Stepp reported on Wednesday that Sabine Pass — a Class 2A program — must forfeit three district wins over Colmesneil, Hull-Daisetta and Evadale for using ineligible players.

The Sharks’ record drops to 2-7 after the vacated wins are taken into account.

Texas forfeits join a growing trend across the country

The vacating of wins has been a hot-button issue over the past week for high school football programs in Texas and across the country.

On Monday, Stepp eported that the Dallas (Texas) Independent School District ruled Samuell High will forfeit each of its seven wins this season after using ineligible players.

The Spartans were 7-2 heading into this weekend’s game against winless Spruce and had a 4-2 district record. Had they won this weekend, they would’ve made the bi-district round of the playoffs as one of the top four teams in Class 5A-II District 5.

Now though, their postseason hopes look to be all but gone.

In Florida, one of the top high school football programs in the country, 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 record is now 0-9 with the state playoff bracket reveal coming this weekend.

Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, Orlando’s 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.

And in Maryland, the three-time defending Class 1A state champions in Maryland high school football, Fort Hill, have been forced to forfeit five wins after reportedly using an ineligible player. The Sentinels are three-time defending state champions at the 1A level, winning crowns in 2021, 2022 and 2023. They were 7-2 this prior to the forfeitures, but now sit at 2-7.

Despite that, they will still be able to participate in the state playoffs because of a rule passed in 2021 that makes every Maryland public school football team eligible for the state tournament.

Three schools in Alabama and one of Georgia’s top high school teams have also been forced to forfeit multiple games in recent days.