Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MIDVALE — Lone Peak's football team reacted with mock joy and excitement when head coach Bart Brockbank joked with his team that Wednesday night's 17-7 win over Pleasant Grove was their first win of the season, according to the Daily Herald.
But as far as the Class 6A state playoffs are concerned, that's all the defending champion Knights will get.
A panel of members from the Utah High School Activities Association's executive committee unanimously upheld a decision (3-0) to forfeit the Knights' five previous wins of the season for fielding an ineligible player.
The circumstance came as a player who moved to the Highland/Alpine area from out of state failed to disclose such circumstances through the association's online registration software found at RegisterMyAthlete.com. The student in question checked a box saying he had not previously attended another high school, thinking it referred to other schools in the state of Utah, according to Lone Peak principal Scott Sumner.
As soon as he learned of the infraction, the principal immediately reported the disclosure to the region. But the infraction occurred, and the executive committee penalized the school according to the association's bylaws Wednesday, also in unanimous fashion (5-0).
The panel upheld a decision that found the school in violation of UHSAA Article 7, Section 6 of the state association's constitution and bylaws charter, which outlines policies and procedures for ineligible and transfer student-athletes, according to the official decision.
"The system is dependent on humans, and look at the crisis it's creating," Sumner told the Deseret News. "This is not a Lone Peak problem, it’s a structure problem. We're appealing to say, this is what happened."
Under the new RPI-based playoff format, all teams in Class 6A will qualify for the playoffs. Lone Peak will enter the postseason with a 1-9 record, with losses by forfeit being factored into the association's RPI equation.
The full RPI rankings and postseason tournament bracket will be revealed Saturday at 9 a.m. MDT.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained an error in the name of Lone Peak football coach Bart Brockbank; it has been corrected.
