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State championship-contending Florida High School programs forced to forfeit games over ineligible players

Modified Nov 01, 2024 12:56 GMT

The 2024 high school football season in Florida has been winding down and nearing its end as playoffs are about to be conducted. With teams preparing to compete and others transitioning into the offseason, some interesting news came about that can affect the state's postseason.

Miami Norland and Western (FL) are among the teams that have been mandated to forfeit games due to ineligible players, per USA Today's Jon Santucci on Tuesday. With the recent ineligibility news, the playoff bracket may shift and change things around for a myriad of schools.

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The Miami Norland Vikings had a player that was ruled ineligible and due to that, their victory over American Heritage was vacated. Their record is now 6-3 on the season.

The WesternWildcats on the other hand, had one ineligible player who participated in two games and because of that, their two wins against Goleman and West Boca Raton are now vacated. With the forfeit of two games, their record has been decreased to 3-6 on the season.

Ineligible players in high school football can be a tricky topic. Transfer, district, state rules and such can affect a particular player's season. But that can be a hindrance to their team as well if left unaddressed. Some players may not even know that they're ineligible, play the whole season and then wins would need to be vacated.

It's not new to high school football and sports in general for ineligible players to play, going against league rules. Long-lasting effects can be had on a program due to the rigorousness of the rules.

Florida High School football rankings heading into the final two weeks of the season

The 2024 Flordia high school football season has been one to note. A lot has happened such as the impact of the hurricanes, teams moving around in rankings, teams underperforming and over acheiving and more.

With only two weeks left in the season, check out the updated Top 25 Florida high school rankings after Week 10 per Sports Illustrated that was posted Sunday.