MM, RAL both used ineligible players in Civil War game; both teams get a loss
Sunday, November 2, 2008 1:08 AM PDT
By Rick S. Alvord
Call it weird. Call it bizarre. Call it the strangest Civil War football result in the 62-game history of the cross-town rivalry. Call it what you want. Just make sure you call it a double forfeit.
Mark Morris’ 53-20 victory over R.A. Long on Halloween night turned out to be a frightening roller-coaster ride for all parties involved.
First, the Monarchs appeared to clinch the No. 2 playoff berth from the Greater St. Helens 2A League with Friday’s victory, in which they broke open a close game with a huge 32-point second half and finished with the highest Civil War point total ever.
About an hour after the game, it was discovered that Mark Morris had used an ineligible player and would have to forfeit to the Lumberjacks, muddying the playoff picture via a coin flip to break a three-way tie for second.
Mark Morris violated rule 57.4.0 of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association handbook. The rule, which covers specific eligibility requirements for high school football, states that “a football participant shall be eligible to compete in up to four quarters of play during any three-day period of the season.”
At question was whether the Monarchs used a player for four plays Friday, one day after he played all four quarters in the MM freshman team’s 52-6 win over R.A. Long.
On Saturday, after Mark Morris’ claim that R.A. Long had also used an ineligible player in the Civil War was found to be untrue, Lumberjacks head coach Erik Bertram realized while relaxing at home that another player — not the one Mark Morris questioned — “could have” violated eligibility rules.
Bertram checked to make sure, then immediately telephoned athletic director Ty Morris to report the infraction.
Therefore, the 62nd Civil War will officially go down in the books as a double forfeit after athletic directors from both schools — RAL’s Morris and MM’s Robert Blackman — submit “self-report” forms on Monday to league president Ed Bate of Ridgefield.
Nobody wins. But both teams lose.
“It’s been a long, weird ride for our coaches and players. I’m glad it all got sorted out,” said Mark Morris head coach Shawn Perkins, who spent a sleepless night worrying about the possible forfeit. “Two coaches made mistakes, and now we’re doing the responsible thing like trying to teach our own young men about things like this.
“I’m just glad it landed where it should have been in the first place,” he added. “We’re anxious to move on.”
Mark Morris will open the crossover district playoffs next Friday at Longview Memorial Stadium against W.F. West, the same team it was matched against before the forfeit and double-forfeit madness ensued.
R.A. Long will re-assume its No. 4 playoff spot from the GSHL, and travels to Evergreen Conference champion Centralia for its crossover game.
Woodland, the other team factored into the three-way tie had Mark Morris been forced to forfeit on its own, is the No. 3 team and will play at third-ranked Tumwater.
Prior to the Civil War, because the possibility of a three-way tie for second existed, the GSHL held a coin flip to determine the Nos. 2-4 seeds in the event that RAL won the game.
The Jacks were No. 2, the Monarchs No. 3 and Woodland No. 4.
Bertram, RAL’s first-year head coach, said he “couldn’t have slept at night” had he benefitted from a Mark Morris forfeit, knowing the Jacks committed the same infraction.
“I started to second-guess myself about another kid, and after checking, he ended up playing the final three plays of the game (Friday), which gave him five quarters,” explained Bertram, who has guided RAL to its first postseason appearance since 1995.
“I’d rather feel stupid than have a guilty conscience,” he said. “I’m relieved that it’s back to where it probably should be, after all the smoke finally cleared.”
The ineligible player for RAL played in two quarters of Thursday’s freshman game against the Monarchs.
“I knew we had him for two quarters in the varsity game. I used him in the first quarter because of an injury to another player, didn’t play him in the second quarter, then played him in the third,” Bertram said. “In the fourth quarter, in the last minute-and-a-half of the game, we were getting a young crew of guys to go out there to mop up, and he ended up going out. It was our fault.”
Bertram said it was an oversight “or maybe just stupidity,” but that the infraction was not a malicious disregard for the rules.
“There was nothing malicious on either side. With the Mark Morris kid who was ineligible, people knew ahead of time that he couldn’t get out there (Friday), but there wasn’t anything malicious about it,” he said. “Same with us. It was a mistake. Live and learn, I guess.”
W.F. West coach Bob Wollan was understandably miffed Saturday.
After his team blanked Black Hills 28-0 on Friday, he spent the rest of the night breaking down video of the Monarchs, whom he believed his Bearcats would meet in next week’s playoffs.
Then word came of the Monarchs’ forfeit. So Wollen halted his Mark Morris preparation and spent all of Saturday morning “cutting up video” of R.A. Long.
Later Saturday, after learning of the double forfeit and that his team would again be matched up with Mark Morris, Wollen responded: “You’re kidding me. We just wasted an entire day (of preparation). That’s quite a mess down there.”
There has never been a forfeit in the history of the Civil War. R.A. Long continues to lead the all-time series 38-21, with two ties.
Rubicon wrote on Nov 1, 2008 6:23 PM:
louie wrote on Nov 1, 2008 6:33 PM:
chapstick wrote on Nov 1, 2008 6:42 PM:
I can't help but laugh. After watching the fans from both schools attack each other's integrity all day it seems coaches from both teams missed something in the game. Good luck to both teams in the playoffs! Go Monarchs! "
MW wrote on Nov 1, 2008 6:47 PM:
An observer wrote on Nov 1, 2008 7:00 PM:
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MW wrote on Nov 1, 2008 10:28 PM:
mkb617 wrote on Nov 1, 2008 10:50 PM:
CRSA wrote on Nov 1, 2008 11:29 PM:
Kudos to both coaches for trying to get their benches in a lopsided game and an even bigger Kudos for having the integrity to admit it when a mistake had been made even though it potentially could have cost you and your team dearly. THAT was the lesson here that your players will remember. That doing the right thing is more important than winning or losing. I'm impressed by both of you guys! "
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