Glenville High School's football team has been pulled from the Ohio postseason after an audit found player eligibility violations, USA Today reports. The Tarblooders were 8-2 and had a playoff bracket waiting for them. Now they have a bye they didn't ask for.
What We Know
- The cause: An audit of fall-sport participation found that many Glenville football players should be suiting up for other schools based on where they live, per the Akron Beacon Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
- The Ginn Academy angle: The investigation centers on athletes from Ginn Academy, a magnet school that isn't an OHSAA member. Ginn doesn't offer sports, so its students can play for another school, but only if they're in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and live closest to that school.
- The record: Glenville finished 8-2 and was set to open the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in Division III, Region 9.
- The matchup that won't happen: Glenville was scheduled to face No. 12 seed University School of Hunting Valley. The Preppers now have a Week 12 game against Garfield Heights.
- The scope: The OHSAA is reviewing how far the violations go and whether other schools in the area are involved. There's no timeline for wrapping up the probe, and no word on whether more penalties are coming.
Not Their First Rodeo
This isn't Glenville's first run-in with this exact problem. The program got the same postseason punishment in 2018 over the same type of issue, plus a $5,000 fine and three years of probation, according to the report.
The ban lands on a team that has been rolling. Glenville won the Division IV state title in 2022, 2023, and again last season, so this is a hard stop for one of the state's most dominant programs.
For everyone else in the Cleveland area, the open question is the OHSAA's review of whether other schools are caught up in this. That's the part to watch, especially for programs and families who rely on the residency rules for Ginn Academy students.
Source: USA Today