My cell has been blowing up tonight so I will address this situation here. The Fort Hill vs. Avalon game set for October 10 at Greenway Avenue Stadium has been cancelled. Fort Hill currently has a 9 game schedule. We are working on a replacement and that is all I can say right now.
In a nutshell, the Avalon game was cancelled because the MPSSAA won't sanction them as they choose to use 5th year seniors that don't meet the MPSSAA Standards of Competition (rules). Avalon has a handful of 5th year seniors, we knew this back in March. We also knew they might have a few 5th year players that would not be eligible. But we worked under the assumption that they were legit 5th year seniors under MPSSAA rules and if it turned out they were not, Avalon would not let those kids participate. Those rules state that if you have not turned age 19 by August 31, you are eligible to play another season if you have not already played the maximum 4 seasons. This happens quite frequently actually. But the rules clearly state that if you play just one single regular season play, even if it's just like an extra point attempt, that one play counts for an entire year. As it turns out, Avalon has a couple of players that don't meet the criteria because they played at least one play during each of their 4 year high school career.
Avalon was/is aware of at least one player not meeting the criteria. They planned on appealing his eligibility and if they didn't win the appeal, would just hold him out against Fort Hill. But the MPSSAA mandates that ineligible players cannot participate at any time of the season, not just against a member school. As time moved on another 5th year player was discovered not to meet that criteria. Avalon has decided to let those kids play. The only MPSSAA school on their schedule was Fort Hill. The rest are private schools, etc. who aren't governed by MPSSAA competition standards. Avalon did not feel right telling those two players they could not play just so they could keep Fort Hill on the schedule. So the game was cancelled. However, they are no longer allowed to play any MPSSAA member.
I personally believe the 5th year senior rule should be thrown out. From the time you enroll in the 9th grade, you get 4 years to play period. Otherwise, you get into situations where a kid said he didn't play any snaps his freshman or sophomore year...and who is going to investigate that by watching freshman video if it even exists? Or by investigating past freshman/JV coaches who can or cannot vouch for whether a kid played a snap or not? Stupid rule.
No sleep until the schedule is reset...I promise. Even if it means traveling to Buffalo for a game
In a nutshell, the Avalon game was cancelled because the MPSSAA won't sanction them as they choose to use 5th year seniors that don't meet the MPSSAA Standards of Competition (rules). Avalon has a handful of 5th year seniors, we knew this back in March. We also knew they might have a few 5th year players that would not be eligible. But we worked under the assumption that they were legit 5th year seniors under MPSSAA rules and if it turned out they were not, Avalon would not let those kids participate. Those rules state that if you have not turned age 19 by August 31, you are eligible to play another season if you have not already played the maximum 4 seasons. This happens quite frequently actually. But the rules clearly state that if you play just one single regular season play, even if it's just like an extra point attempt, that one play counts for an entire year. As it turns out, Avalon has a couple of players that don't meet the criteria because they played at least one play during each of their 4 year high school career.
Avalon was/is aware of at least one player not meeting the criteria. They planned on appealing his eligibility and if they didn't win the appeal, would just hold him out against Fort Hill. But the MPSSAA mandates that ineligible players cannot participate at any time of the season, not just against a member school. As time moved on another 5th year player was discovered not to meet that criteria. Avalon has decided to let those kids play. The only MPSSAA school on their schedule was Fort Hill. The rest are private schools, etc. who aren't governed by MPSSAA competition standards. Avalon did not feel right telling those two players they could not play just so they could keep Fort Hill on the schedule. So the game was cancelled. However, they are no longer allowed to play any MPSSAA member.
I personally believe the 5th year senior rule should be thrown out. From the time you enroll in the 9th grade, you get 4 years to play period. Otherwise, you get into situations where a kid said he didn't play any snaps his freshman or sophomore year...and who is going to investigate that by watching freshman video if it even exists? Or by investigating past freshman/JV coaches who can or cannot vouch for whether a kid played a snap or not? Stupid rule.
No sleep until the schedule is reset...I promise. Even if it means traveling to Buffalo for a game
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