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Hirschi win rescinded due to possible ineligible player

Thu, 10/13/2022 - 12:26 pm

Last Friday’s game between the Graham Steers and Hirschi Huskies was ruled a double forfeit, following a Thursday morning meeting of the District 3-4A Executive Committee.

The Huskies were initially awarded a win for the game, with no points awarded in the points differential, following a Wednesday, Oct. 12 meeting of the DEC. The decision was overturned Thursday, after previously unknown circumstances came to light.

According to Graham ISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse, an email was sent Saturday to all district coaches, superintendents, the DEC and UIL referencing a “probable ineligible player.” Cruse said the belief among the DEC was that Hirschi was going to be required to file a retroactive waiver with UIL to allow the alleged ineligible player to continue playing.

Following the committee’s vote to rule the Huskies as the game’s winner, the committee was informed that it would have to vote to allow Hirschi to file the waiver, which the DEC ultimately approved Thursday. Due to the previously unknown circumstances surrounding the possible ineligible player, the win for Hirschi was rescinded, ending in a double forfeit.
Steers head coach Kenny Davidson said he expects UIL to make a decision regarding the player waiver by Hirschi’s next game Friday, Oct. 21.

According to a Thursday statement by Wichita Falls ISD Athletic Director, Scot Hafley, the player in question previously participated in the Graham High School football program and had not been in the Hirschi attendance zone for a full calendar year, which is required for eligibility by UIL.

“On the evening of October 7, the UIL and each member school of district 3-4A received an email claiming players on the Hirschi High School football team do not live in the correct attendance zone. On Tuesday, October 11, I made a home visit to locate the family in question. On that day, the family provided documentation of a lease agreement for an address in the Hirschi attendance zone that was used to register for school,” Hafley said. “However, the family relocated to a new home in the Rider attendance zone after school started without our knowledge. The player in question completed the UIL’s Previous Athletic Participation Form (PAPF), and it was approved by District 3-4A and the UIL.”

He also stated that Hirschi’s head football coach Lawrence Johnson had contacted GISD in August in regards to the player.

“Coach Johnson was informed by a Graham ISD representative that the district would sign the PAPF and they had not experienced any issues with the student or family. Since that time, we have learned that information was not true,” Hafley said.

The Hirschi athletic director wrote about the DEC’s decision to rule the game a double forfeiture, and stated that he was frustrated, but recognized the responsibility fell on the district.

“While I am personally frustrated with this decision, I recognize that it is the responsibility of the receiving school to verify the residency of all athletes. Coach Johnson and I failed to ensure this athlete remained in the Hirschi attendance zone for one calendar year,” he stated. “I am disappointed by the circumstances surrounding this case and the manner in which it was reported to us, but we will enforce the UIL rules and decision of the 3-4A Executive Committee.”

The Steers will also lose 10 points in their point differential, due to being behind by 10 when the game was suspended near the end of the third quarter.

The point differential is the difference between a team’s total points scored and total points allowed throughout the district schedule, and would be used as a tie-breaker in the district standings. Following Thursday’s decision by the DEC, Hirschi’s point differential will be zero and Graham’s will be negative 10.

During the Wednesday meeting, the DEC, made up of athletic directors and superintendents from district-affiliated schools, including Midland Greenwood, Snyder and Sweetwater, required GISD and WFISD to submit corrective action plans to the DEC for approval and submission to UIL. Cruse said GISD’s plan has been submitted and will be released to the public following UIL’s approval.

Cruse said Wednesday six Graham players and five players from Hirschi were suspended by UIL, with officials from Hirschi having suspended a sixth player. The superintendent said that three Graham players would miss more than the minimum one-half game, but declined to identify players or the exact lengths of suspensions.

During Wednesday’s GISD school board meeting, Cruse addressed the identity of the user who posted a comment on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football mobile app before Friday’s game. The racially charged comment was posted by an account appearing to be a Graham Steers’ fan. During the meeting, Cruse said he has been in contact via phone call and email with DCTF President Adam Hochfelder.

“One of the flaws of that app is that under current design, (...) to create a username, it does not require an authenticated email address,” Cruse said regarding the DCTF mobile app. “They do have the name and email address for the account associated with (SteerGradNowSteerDad). They do have the name on that, but they’re still working through legal if they should release it to us.”

Cruse said that due to liability issues, DCTF cannot track the IP address associated with the account. An IP address is a numeric address given to a computer connected to the internet.

Cruse said Thursday that he is also in the process of consulting with the district’s attorney to see if there was any possible legal recourse if the author of the comment is found. During the GISD board meeting, he expanded on his conversation with local law enforcement officials.

“I did have a meeting (Wednesday) afternoon with our district attorney’s office, as well as our chief of police and a member from our sheriff’s department,” Cruse told the board. “(...) It is important to me if, at all possible, we determine where the post originated from. And with that being said, if (at) the back end we can’t find it technology-wise, I’m considering crafting something to put out as another open letter, asking for help, because someone in the world knows who this person is.”

Cruse also said he was made aware of an additional incident following the game. The alleged harassment was by Graham citizen towards a member of the Hirschi band in the vicinity of the United Supermarkets parking lot, as well as near Newton Field.

The Graham resident involved in the harassment has been identified and “law enforcement is taking action,” according to Cruse.