Storyline: FH forfeits games due to an ineligible player

[TDHelmick]

This will be released in 3 parts. This is Part I. These are not opinion pieces. Only an attempt to tell the story of how this happened. Part 3 will be more opinion.

I could have easily just dropped this story and did a couple of times. But no one was reporting this story publicly. I felt the players and coaches had a right to have their roles explained.

LINK: https://cumberlandsmagic.com/2025/0...its-games-due-to-use-of-an-ineligible-player/

 

[52 to victory]

Great article. Looking forward to the rest. The big question is… who has it out so bad for FH? Opposing school/fan? An inside job? Someone jealous of what Alkire is accomplishing?

 

[hbpass2]

How has the BOE and specifically the direct members who cleared this case been able to slide under the radar and not be questioned for damn near 3 months now. Sounds like there is a ton of people who owe FH and the coaches and administrators a huge apology.

There is to much anonymity in this story. It’d be a shame if someone “anonymously” leaked the name of the caller and the letter writer.

 

[Bleedred4life]

Little Brother (Frankfort) tried to pull a fast one to be declared the best team in the area but failed. Big question, where did the first call come from? That shouldn't be hard for the BOE to answer. It doesn't make the kid legal but at least we find out who sat on this for eight weeks and then tried to sabotage the program.

 

[TDHelmick]

So much wrangling over who the anonymous "disgrunter" may be. Don't assume anything, lots of disgruntled people. I have my own trail, but no proof. Accusations without proof are not good for anyone.

The more I talked to those involved, the more my view changed. One thing that will be demonstrated in Part II of this story is that the ineligible player wasn't transferring for athletic reasons. He wasn't interested in playing football anywhere. Those wishing to distribute blame, even from the inside, need to walk in other people's shoes sometimes.

 

[ravemwp]

As I said in a previous thread, the story (truth) needs to be told. Not for shame or blame, but for resolution. The number one question for me is how do we stop this from happening again. People will always find ways to manipulate the system, so maybe it's time to update the system into the world we live in now. Not the system that our great grandparents set up.

 

[TDHelmick]

As I said in a previous thread, the story (truth) needs to told. Not for shame or blame, but for resolution. The number one question for me is how do we stop this from happening again. People will always find ways to manipulate the system, so maybe it's time to update the system into the world we live in now. Not the system that our great grandparents set up.

Exactly. That is my ultimate goal.

This incident went well beyond county walls. FH has always had trouble finding games in the past, this situation now makes every AD have reservations about picking up a team that is thought to have ineligible players from other states.

When I was leaving the Cambridge game, there was a car full of students cursing at FH fans coming out of the gate screaming things like y'all are a bunch of cheaters, using illegal players, etc. Yea, the storyline needed told without opinion. Just what happened at least. For some reason, no media outlet chose to cover this story despite the fact this has never happened before. The coaches and players had no avenue to speak publicly about their role. That was absurd, so I stepped up.

 

[TDHelmick]

Another thing to add...I have realized that transferring schools is not always about where those athletes are headed, but more so about where they came from. In this case, when you get beat 30 times in a row, when you get beat 50-0 at halftime, and it just continues over and over and over - kids want out. It's human nature and doesn't require a recruiting platform from the other side.

College is different with money involved. But prior to NIL, college athletes were transferring for the same reason. Yea, "the grass is always greener" is a good cliché. But a better way to phrase it would be more like "the old grass was browner."

 

[ultrawalt]

Based on what you have so far, the multiple residences/lack of regular arrangements the student legally qualifies as homeless under McKinley-Vinto and could open up a different can of worms for the Board of Education if the family is so inclined or informed of those rights.

 

[Bleedred4life]

So much wrangling over who the anonymous "disgrunter" may be. Don't assume anything, lots of disgruntled people. I have my own trail, but no proof. Accusations without proof are not good for anyone.

The more I talked to those involved, the more my view changed. One thing that will be demonstrated in Part II of this story is that the ineligible player wasn't transferring for athletic reasons. He wasn't interested in playing football anywhere. Those wishing to distribute blame, even from the inside, need to walk in other people's shoes sometimes.

OK Todd, I'll begrudgingly give you this one. Even though my opinion hasn't changed, I won't point any more fingers. I do have my reasons, but they would take this post way off topic. Looking forward to the next two posts.

 

[novaunicorn]

This will be released in 3 parts. This is Part I. These are not opinion pieces. Only an attempt to tell the story of how this happened. Part 3 will be more opinion.

I could have easily just dropped this story and did a couple of times. But no one was reporting this story publicly. I felt the players and coaches had a right to have their roles explained.

LINK: https://cumberlandsmagic.com/2025/0...its-games-due-to-use-of-an-ineligible-player/

Excellent first article, can't wait to see all three parts as I'm sure there is crucial info. that will complete the whole story. My only immediate takeaway that I think is fair to comment on is the fact that a non-homeowner said the student didn't live there. The investigators saw football cleats on a home in WV. Based on those two things it was decided he did not live where his dad said he lived. If those are the facts it is horseshit. Not every FH football player sleeps in their main residence every night. Growing up my siblings and I spent two nights a week at our grandparents home to due to our parents work schedule. We spent Saturday nights at an aunt's house as she had no children and spoiled us rotten and wanted to give our parents one night a week to themselves. So we didn't spent three nights a week at our main residence, nobody said we didn't live there because of that! If this ends up being another BOE blunder I think we'd all be shocked - NOT!

 

[Bleedred4life]

Good pick up. Way back in the day, we only took our cleats home the night before the next game to shine them. I don't know if anything has changed since then, but that is a good question. I reread the article, and it stated that the cleats were red. I went back and watched a couple of games, and this kid was clearly wearing white cleats trimmed in red. You'd think that it would say that in the report. You are also on the money as far as kids sleeping at friend's homes. This weekend alone, my soon to be 18 yrs old son has been at his friend's house since Friday. My wife and I have only seen him to drop off food or money, yes, he calls if he needs something. This weekend coming should be our turn to host. (Yes, I lose my man cave for the weekend!)

 

[wvbossman]

Little Brother (Frankfort) tried to pull a fast one to be declared the best team in the area but failed. Big question, where did the first call come from? That shouldn't be hard for the BOE to answer. It doesn't make the kid legal but at least we find out who sat on this for eight weeks and then tried to sabotage the program.

BleedRed you are wrong on this one. The father in question had stated all last basketball season that his son would not play at Frankfort next year. The young man was not playing football, he tried but it did not work out his freshman year.

The famliy lived and grew up in WV but Dad and son were ready for a change for many reasons. Nobody at Frankfort wanted vengenace on the family, the writing had been on the wall for quite some time. The problem was that everything that needed to be done to transfer was not the way it should have been.

It's over and everything worked out for all involved. Let's put it to bed and wish everyone involved the best.

 

[TDHelmick]

BleedRed you are wrong on this one. The father in question had stated all last basketball season that his son would not play at Frankfort next year. The young man was not playing football, he tried but it did not work out his freshman year.

The famliy lived and grew up in WV but Dad and son were ready for a change for many reasons. Nobody at Frankfort wanted vengenace on the family, the writing had been on the wall for quite some time. The problem was that everything that needed to be done to transfer was not the way it should have been.

It's over and everything worked out for all involved. Let's put it to bed and wish everyone involved the best.

Correct. The son had quit football. He didn't even want to play football at FH. More on that in my Part II story.

But I don't agree this needs put to bed without some clarification. Being hush about the entire topic is where this was headed. Very disappointed no one in the media wanted to report on this topic. After 100 years of football in Allegany County, no team ever forfeited a season over ineligible players. Someone had to have the guts to stand up for kids. It isn't easy when most all the adults involved want this to go away and be kept quiet. Very disappointing.

 

[OneRing]

Someone had to have the guts to stand up for kids. It isn't easy when most all the adults involved want this to go away and be kept quiet. Very disappointing.

Who has been taking this out on the kids? Haven't heard one person blame any of the players (outside the one who broke the rules).

 

[ravemwp]

The whole system has been taking it out on the kids. Making them travel, when they earned the right to play at home. Taking away wins that were earned on the field. Throwing shade on the team, and school as being cheaters or part of a conspiracy. Face it the system is broken. This needs to lead to system reform, life in 2025 is so much different than 1925. Yet these are the rules and boundaries we still play by. So very antiquated compared to the rest of the country.

 

[novaunicorn]

If you are somebody who doesn't have an article coming out but you know the situation well enough to say he had no interest in playing football then please tell us why he did play football. It seems like that is an integral part of the story because if he didn't play we wouldn't be having this conversation.
If you have intimate knowledge of this kid and his dad's intentions and state something like he wasn't going to play but then he does play you aren't really adding anything to the resolution or providing clarity...so please, if you know that part of the story please explain the part where he changed his mind.

 

[wvbossman]

He played his freshman year at Frankfort but did not play his sophomore year, despite efforts from the staff to encourage him to do so. He stated he wanted to focus on basketball and play travel basketball. As to why we decided to play at Fort Hill that is something I do not know.

 

[Bleedred4life]

Don't get me wrong, Dad could have done the right things and this whole thread would have been moot. I was just pointing out that the BOE had no real evidence if they didn't want to go after this young man. I mentioned before about the female athlete that lived out of State, and drove her car, with WV tags, every day to MR. But the BOE seems to pick and choose who they pick on. I'm hearing that there is more to this story, I don't know for certain. The things that they used to do to undermine Todd Appel would make your head spin. Anyway, I think that I'm right on the "phone call". And I'll continue to feel that way until it's proven wrong. The big question is: can this young man have at least a semi normal year and a half of High School when all of this is over?

 

[TDHelmick]

If you are somebody who doesn't have an article coming out but you know the situation well enough to say he had no interest in playing football then please tell us why he did play football. It seems like that is an integral part of the story because if he didn't play we wouldn't be having this conversation.
If you have intimate knowledge of this kid and his dad's intentions and state something like he wasn't going to play but then he does play you aren't really adding anything to the resolution or providing clarity...so please, if you know that part of the story please explain the part where he changed his mind.

Fair questions. You will have to wait and read the rest of the story as the topic gets addressed. There are probably liberties I can take on a forum such as this that I cannot when writing the story for the public to see.

All the knowledge I have is extremely intimate - that is why I spent so much time interviewing every party involved. Although the BOE isn't going to talk about it publicly other than quote policy. Doing my best to relay what I can. This story was 7,000 words long originally and that still wasn't enough for readers who want full disclosure.

Don't know who wvbossman is, but he is not incorrect.

 

[TDHelmick]

Who has been taking this out on the kids? Haven't heard one person blame any of the players (outside the one who broke the rules).

ravemwp answered that for me.
In short, the football players and coaches got punished for things they had nothing to do with. People do not realize how close FH came to forfeiting the playoffs and the whole season. If this anonymous tip occurred just a week later, that would have happened. Then I wonder what people would have to say.

Sorry we got this wrong, but you have to forfeit the season. Yea, that is taking it out on kids.

 

[4inarowtopthat]

Fair questions. You will have to wait and read the rest of the story as the topic gets addressed. There are probably liberties I can take on a forum such as this that I cannot when writing the story for the public to see.

All the knowledge I have is extremely intimate - that is why I spent so much time interviewing every party involved. Although the BOE isn't going to talk about it publicly other than quote policy. Doing my best to relay what I can. This story was 7,000 words long originally and that still wasn't enough for readers who want full disclosure.

Don't know who wvbossman is, but he is not incorrect.

I don't think anybody was saying he's incorrect. The question seemed pretty simple, what changed? If he had no intention of playing and didn't this wouldn't be a topic. Once he played then the fact he said he wasn't going to becomes moot. He did, there were consequences.
I think since you are the one writing the article and you have done all the research then until you have presented all three articles everybody's "I know this, I know that, but I don't know know when and why" is just more opinions.

 

[ravemwp]

Some here are proving a point that I have been trying to make. If he didn’t play football then this thread would be moot. Wrong!! What I have been saying all along is that people in this area only gives a damn where a kid plays sports. They really don’t care where a kid goes to school. The antiquated rules and boundaries were set up for school enrollment, not athletics. We need to get into 21st century thinking. It is not about us. It’s about what is best for the STUDENT Athletes. Give them an even playing field with the rest of high school athletics in this country.

 

[Lagmeister]

Even 60 years ago, football was sufficiently important in duh Queen City that everybody in town would have been familiar with a potentially shady transfer of a high-profile athlete playing football at Fort Hill. The head-scratching (seems to me) is over the BOE ignoring the constant concerns of coach Alkire. I mean.... what the hell was Alkire supposed to do? I mean... really!

I dunno.... maybe the BOE was trying to give the kid a break and felt they had the power to make it all go away .... all the while, the father was willing to give 'em enough paper to make it plausible.... until it wasn't... because it obviously wasn't ever plausible... or even a secret for that matter.

 

[Lagmeister]

Some here are proving a point that I have been trying to make. If he didn’t play football then this thread would be moot. Wrong!! What I have been saying all along is that people in this area only gives a damn where a kid plays sports. They really don’t care where a kid goes to school. The antiquated rules and boundaries were set up for school enrollment, not athletics. We need to get into 21st century thinking. It is not about us. It’s about what is best for the STUDENT Athletes. Give them an even playing field with the rest of high school athletics in this country.

Taxes in MD are going up again (no surprise there). So, all parents in the 21st century should be able to live in a lower tax state and have their kids educated in a higher tax state with a better sports program.

 

[wvbossman]

Athletes are transferring everyhwere these days in high school. WV made it easier by relaxing the transfer rules within WV so now chaos has ensued in some parts of the state. Athletes transfer to play for the best team in their Area, because they don't like a coach, because another teams "system" fits them better, because their team is not good and we could go on and on.

Add into that mix athletes who have become one sport athletes, do travel in that sport and train exclusively for that sport. Then you have high school athletes who are now only playing for elite travel teams in certain sports, they no longer compete for their high school teams. From what I read the next thing to enter into the mix is NIL at the high school level.

The issue at Fort Hill is just the tip of the iceberg compared to what will unfold in the future. If you look at scores their is very little parity left in many high school sports. It's a shame because for 95% of these kids and families they have transferred, spent a lot of money to travel, sold houses and other things not even considering what really matters and that is the academic side of it.

We've lost our way. Sports teaches life lessons and makes you a better citizen, parent and spouse. If your talented, work hard and excel then you may earn a scholarship and the very rare ones like Ty get a shot at the pros. For the rest of these familes I'm not sure they have considered the impact of decisions based soley on athletics and not the big picture.

 

[ravemwp]

Taxes in MD are going up again (no surprise there). So, all parents in the 21st century should be able to live in a lower tax state and have their kids educated in a higher tax state with a better sports program.

No I do not agree with that. My concerns have more to do with what side of Frederick Street, or which end of Bedford Street- Road your great great grandparents decide to lay down roots 100 years ago. The out of state things need to be addressed as well. This part of the state that borders so closely with PA. and WVA. have a much different out of state situation than schools down state. You want to try to eliminate this from happening again. One of my concerns was if the BOE didn't have the resources and finances to investigate this properly from the beginning, where did they get the resources and finances to investigate throughly 7 weeks later. There has to be a better system.

 

[4inarowtopthat]

No I do not agree with that. My concerns have more to do with what side of Frederick Street, or which end of Bedford Street- Road your great great grandparents decide to lay down roots 100 years ago. The out of state things need to be addressed as well. This part of the state that borders so closely with PA. and WVA. have a much different out of state situation than schools down state. You want to try to eliminate this from happening again. One of my concerns was if the BOE didn't have the resources and finances to investigate this properly from the beginning, where did they get the resources and finances to investigate throughly 7 weeks later. There has to be a better system.

If having a non-home owner say he didn't live there, and red cleats on a porch means there was a thorough investigation then we are all screwed. C'mon, that wasn't an investigation at all.
Let's wait and see what else TH has to say, I think he's proven he's thorough and likes to put it all out there so we can all get the answers we would like, and then we can appropriately place blame.

 

[ravemwp]

If having a non-home owner say he didn't live there, and red cleats on a porch means there was a thorough investigation then we are all screwed. C'mon, that wasn't an investigation at all.
Let's wait and see what else TH has to say, I think he's proven he's thorough and likes to put it all out there so we can all get the answers we would like, and then we can appropriately place blame.

Exactly. Somewhere early on I read the BOE stated that they didn't have resources, and finances to investigate the transfers. How much time and trouble would it have cost them to do the next to nothing investigation they eventually did, only 7 weeks earlier.

 

[wvbossman]

Little Brother (Frankfort) tried to pull a fast one to be declared the best team in the area but failed. Big question, where did the first call come from? That shouldn't be hard for the BOE to answer. It doesn't make the kid legal but at least we find out who sat on this for eight weeks and then tried to sabotage the program.

I'm not going to criticize the Board of Education in this one. One thing I do know is that Boards of Education do not go looking for these kinds of things. They have their hands full in the day to day operation of the schools, athletics and everyone thing else that goes on in within their confines.

Other things to consider are that they must maintain confidentiality and if they don't someone will lose their job. The other is that once it is reported it must be investigated. If not, once again the person in charge of that role will lose their job. I would not have wanted to be the person to field that call or had to do the work of investigating it.

I also know this, school systems always err toward the extreme side of caution these days in everything. If there is a remote risk of them ending up in court for some type of liability (which happens more often these days) then theywill always act in the best interest of the student, I would also guess that there were many heads going together to make this decision based on how high profile situation it was.

 

[Waggle Pass]

Taxes in MD are going up again (no surprise there). So, all parents in the 21st century should be able to live in a lower tax state and have their kids educated in a higher tax state with a better sports program.

So you make more than $500 thousand?

 

[ravemwp]

While the football team took the backlash, this really isn't as much about football as one would think. The rules are clear in the sense that if you are eligible to attend a school, then you are eligible to play sports. If you are not eligible to attend a particular school you can't take classes there. Not Math, not Science, not History. Athletics have no bearing. Yet that seems to be the only thing people here are concerned about. Just my opinion.

 

[Lagmeister]

So you make more than $500 thousand?

Well.... in previous money grabs, MD lost tax dollars by assuming folks would continue to live here and pay. However, for those who only read headlines, I suggest they read in entirety before they assume the fair share meme (and how's digging deep for Kirwan working out?).

Maryland Gov. Moore includes income tax increases for wealthy residents to help address $3B deficit

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has included higher income tax rates for taxpayers who make more than $500,000 in his budget plan, as well as about $2 billion in budget cuts to address a $3 billion deficit.

apnews.com

 

[TDHelmick]

The other is that once it is reported it must be investigated. If not, once again the person in charge of that role will lose their job. I would not have wanted to be the person to field that call or had to do the work of investigating it.

Not true. Every school year there are over 25 students turned in by school administrators in the office for suspicion that a student may not be living where they claim. They rarely get investigated. No house checks, no photos taken, nothing. I was told the BOE doesnt have the manpower. I learned this through my investigations.

Yet an anonymous tip comes in on an athlete and they go full out press and they assign two BOE investigators to visit the homes and call meetings with the principal.

I will repeat...their own administrators turn in names and nothing. But anonymous tips magically make them move? TWICE in a two week span. Two anonymous tips. Both investigated.

That's a serious problem.

 

[wvbossman]

Not true. Every school year there are over 25 students turned in by school administrators in the office for suspicion that a student may not be living where they claim. They rarely get investigated. No house checks, no photos taken, nothing. I was told the BOE doesnt have the manpower. I learned this through my investigations.

Yet an anonymous tip comes in on an athlete and they go full out press and they assign two BOE investigators to visit the homes and call meetings with the principal.

I will repeat...their own administrators turn in names and nothing. But anonymous tips magically make them move? TWICE in a two week span. Two anonymous tips. Both investigated.

That's a serious problem.

That suprises me as having been someone who has worked in public education (but not in Allegany County). I do know the county I worked for investigated out of state inquiries much more aggressively. I also did not realize that it was that much of a problem in Allegany County.

 

[Lagmeister]

Not true. Every school year there are over 25 students turned in by school administrators in the office for suspicion that a student may not be living where they claim. They rarely get investigated. No house checks, no photos taken, nothing. I was told the BOE doesnt have the manpower. I learned this through my investigations.

Yet an anonymous tip comes in on an athlete and they go full out press and they assign two BOE investigators to visit the homes and call meetings with the principal.

I will repeat...their own administrators turn in names and nothing. But anonymous tips magically make them move? TWICE in a two week span. Two anonymous tips. Both investigated.

That's a serious problem.

If I were connected to the current Fort Hill football program.... I would be really, really pissed.

 

[wvbossman]

Very interesting for sure. I do know that the family in question is very well known not just in WV but also in the area, mainly through the father, his sons and athletics. I also know that the two young brothers still attend school in the Frankfort District and also play sports for teams in that district.

No doubt the athlete in question was ready for change and not just athletically. Sometimes kids need a change, a fresh start to give them renewed hope and a different environment to cultivate that. I am for that 100% and we should afford families and athletes that opportunity.

However, it is up to the parent to make sure that it is done in the right manner regardless of where the student chooses to attend. I know people who have sold houses and moved halfway across WV to give their child a different experience, I respect the fact that they have done it the right way.

I also know people in the past who claimed to have moved to an “apartment” only to pass them daily taking their child to another school in another state. I know we live in a society in which rules and regulations are meaningless but they are put in place for reasons and as adults we should do our best to model behaviors that develop the whole young person not just the athlete. Being a good athlete or being involved in sports should never excuse someone from doing the right thing.

I know Todd posted earlier that nobody wants to play for a team that is not good. There are pros and cons to that thought process too but that is a whole other topic. The concerning thing is just how many families are willing to transfer to play for the BEST team in every SPORT. Oftentimes the team they are transferring from really is not that bad but currently everyone wants to play for the only the BEST team.

i firmly believe that there are valuable lessons to be learned in both winning and losing but we are moving away from the lessons learned through losing and therefore not allowing young people to grow through their struggles. Adversity builds character, loyalty builds community and many times we look only into the immediate gratification of the athlete instead of doing what is best for them long-term as a person.

I’m not saying what happened to the FH Football program was fair or right. I was not part of the investigation so that makes me unqualified to make a final call. FH is a great football program and I admire what they have built. if you take some good out of the bad this year those young men learned some great life lessons:

1. Life is not always.

2. When you ascend to the top of the mountain someone is always looking to knock you off both justly and unjustly.

3. Bad things happen, sometimes it’s your fault, sometimes it’s not.

4.Although things may look bad and things may get very difficult (forfeiting wins, long, expensive bus rides) if you work hard, keep showing up and rally around each other you can perservere and still attain your goals.

5. There are lessons to be learned in both the wins and the losses.

6. If you only experience the good you can become complacent.

If we all step back and take a look at the big picture this team may have learned more valueable life lessons than many of the prior great teams that Fort Hill has ever had. This season may serve these young men and their families more in the long-term than any other life experience they have ever had.

 

[OneRing]

ravemwp answered that for me.
In short, the football players and coaches got punished for things they had nothing to do with. People do not realize how close FH came to forfeiting the playoffs and the whole season. If this anonymous tip occurred just a week later, that would have happened. Then I wonder what people would have to say.

Sorry we got this wrong, but you have to forfeit the season. Yea, that is taking it out on kids.

Except nothing got taken out on them. They suffered no punishment. Unless you consider winning a state title a punishment.

Coming close to doing something is not doing something.

Kind of confirms that this is a fluff piece to paint FH as the victim. You're hiding behind the kids trying to perpetuate the myth of the clean FH program.

The only people who ever made a deal out of this was FH people. You're worried about the perception of the FH program. If it was about the kids, there wouldn't have been the long wait and all the other unrelated stuff in the article.

 

[OneRing]

So you make more than $500 thousand?

Illegal aliens from other states using taxes is great, illegals from another country using taxes is the worst thing ever, unless you work for Elon

 

[OneRing]

The whole system has been taking it out on the kids. Making them travel, when they earned the right to play at home. Taking away wins that were earned on the field. Throwing shade on the team, and school as being cheaters or part of a conspiracy. Face it the system is broken. This needs to lead to system reform, life in 2025 is so much different than 1925. Yet these are the rules and boundaries we still play by. So very antiquated compared to the rest of the country.

Kids travel to play football every year.

The throwing shade at your school is all you're worried about. Just admit it.

We have laws and rules for a reason. We are a country of law and order, are we not?