DICKSON: No winners in the Choctaw mess
By now, you've probably heard that Choctawhatchee High School played an ineligible player against Fort Walton Beach in the team's Oct. 30 football game.
By Florida High School Athletic Association rule, a player is eligible to play until he or she turns 19 years, nine months old.
Choctaw’s Kalin Lovett hit that age Oct. 16, the day the Indians lost to Niceville. He then played that game and the next two games against Tate and the Vikings before Indian head football coach and athletic director Greg Thomas discovered the mistake Nov. 2.
Thomas promptly removed Lovett from the team that day, but he didn’t report the violation to the FHSAA until Nov. 4.
The Indians were forced to forfeit the games with the Aggies and Vikings. And this is where it gets interesting — the Fort Walton Beach game was a District 3-6A game. The forfeit to Fort Walton Beach dropped Choctaw to 1-2 in district play, tying the Indians with the Vikings and Crestview for second place in the district.
It would seem that if Thomas had reported the violation to the FHSAA the same day as he dismissed Lovett, the three teams should have played a shootout to determine who was the runner up in the district behind Niceville. I don’t understand why, even after the violation was reported Wednesday, the teams couldn’t have met Wednesday or Thursday for a shootout.
Instead, the Indians received what amounted to a pass into the playoffs, where they beat Ponte Vedra Nease.
I don’t know Greg Thomas. At best, I’ve met him once or twice. I want to believe he made an honest mistake; that he didn’t think about the timing involved in reporting the violation.
Crestview Coach Tim Hatten said while he didn’t think the 5-5 Bulldogs deserved to be in the playoffs, he still would have liked to have a shot at the shootout, where anything could happen.
Lovett played for the Indians against Crestview on Oct. 2 and, at the time, he was still eligible to play. Taking it a step further, although he played against Fort Walton Beach, it’s doubtful that his absence would have made much of a difference. Choctaw won the game 50-7.
And while the Indians beat Nease after Lovett had been dismissed, it would seem the Panthers have the biggest bone of contention with Choctaw being in the playoffs.
The logical thing for the FHSAA to do — after deciding it was too late for a shootout once Choctaw reported the violation — would have been to vacate the runner up in District 3-6A. Yes, that would have given Nease a bye into the playoffs' second round, but there would be no lingering doubts how the timeline in reporting the violations played out.
There are no real winners here. I don’t think Choctaw football players, who did nothing wrong, should be punished for their coach's mistake.
By the same token, you could argue that Crestview and Fort Walton Beach football players were punished by not having the opportunity to play in a shootout. And that Nease was punished, losing to a team that violated a rule.
I don’t blame the student-athlete for anything. Maybe he realized he was too old or maybe he didn’t — that’s on the adults.
Part of the blame has to go to the FHSAA for having an age policy that can be misleading and confusing. In fairness to the organization, last year the FHSAA enacted a new age rule to make things easier for everyone.
Under the rule change that started with the freshman class in the 2014-15 academic year, any student turning 19 on or after Sept. 1 would be eligible for the entire year.
It will be another two years before the new rule's full impact takes place. In the meantime, there will probably be other mistakes made as coaches and administrators try to determine an athlete’s eligibility.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DICKSON: No winners in the Choctaw mess
