Texas high school football team forced to vacate all 7 wins after using ineligible players

The Texas high school football playoffs are set to begin next weekend, but one school expecting to participate almost certainly won’t be.

On Monday, Matt Stepp of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football reported that the Dallas Independent School District has 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 after Monday’s ruling.

BREAKING multiple sources confirm to @dctf that Dallas ISD has ruled that Dallas Samuell will forfeit all seven of their wins in 2024 due to use if ineligible players.
No word as of yet on the status if this week's game vs Spruce #txhsfb

— Matt Stepp (@Matt_Stepp817) November 4, 2024

The reported discrepancies with Samuell’s roster initially came out on Thursday, when their game against district rival South Oak Cliff was abruptly canceled.

Dallas ISD later released a statement on the decision.

“Dallas ISD is committed to transparency, fairness, and accountability in all our programs, upholding the highest standards for our teams and students,” the district wrote in a press release. “Following an internal investigation, the district discovered ineligible players on the W.W. Samuell High School varsity football team, which resulted in the cancellation of last night’s game against South Oak Cliff. We are ensuring strict compliance with UIL guidelines and will not tolerate actions that compromise the integrity of our athletic programs. Dallas ISD is committed to addressing this matter in full transparency and will take the necessary actions to protect the interests of our students and community.”

Samuell head coach Danny Cobbin was placed on administrative leave last month amid the investigation, according to Stepp.

Texas not the only state dealing with ineligible player issues

The situation at Samuell isn’t the first of its kind in the state, and multiple schools in Florida have had their seasons effectively ended due to rulings associated with the use of ineligible players.

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.

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.

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.