#1 Clay-Chalkville Out of 6A Playoffs

by Jeff Fisher
Alabama High School Football Huddle

Clay-Chalkville, unbeaten and #1 in Class 6A until a week ago, will not be able to participate in the 2011 Alabama high school football playoffs.

The Alabama Supreme Court has denied the Cougars appeal of an Alabama High School Athletic Association order that the team forfeit nine wins for using an ineligible player. A student-athlete who transferred to Clay-Chalkville High School was ruled ineligible by the AHSAA for a violation of an eligibility rule.

“This is a very positive decision by the Alabama Supreme Court,” said AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese, in a news release on the AHSAA website “It again affirms that the AHSAA has the right to interpret and enforce its own rules which are established by and for the benefit of our member schools.

With Clay-Chalkville removed from the 6A bracket, Gadsden City is now in, and will play Mountain Brook tonight; Vestavia Hills will now play in Austin.

The Big Business of High School Sports

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

For years I've been talking about how the commercialization of high school football isn't necessarily good for the sport! Click here to see my commentary on the 2007 "Made for TV" football game between Northwestern (FL) and Southlake Carroll (TX).

The latest head shaking story for me comes from Alabama where the state's high school athletic association, that recently moved its Super Six football championships from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa and Auburn, is building revenue streams at a pace that left the AHSAA with a $2.3 million surplus at the end of 2007-08 according to a report on al.com. Click here to read the report.

Of course Alabama isn't the only state capitalizing on the popularity of high school sports. And, for the record, I'm not against such financial windfalls. I just hope that the money trickles down to ALL of the schools in the state.

In this day-and-age, money needs to be given to the education of students. Remember, sports is part of the education process...not the other way around!

For high school football news from around the nation, click here to go to The High School Football Huddle.

Alabama High School Football Scoreboard - Championships

Alabama High School Football Scores
Friday & Saturday, December 7 & 8, 2007

USA Today Super 25
#2 Prattville 14 Spain Park

Championships

6A
Prattville 14 Spain Park 0

5A
St. Paul's 14 Briarwood 13

4A
Central-Tuscaloosa 34 Deshler 7

3A
Cordova 21 Clay County 13

2A
Leroy 25 Fyffe 20

1A
Sweet Water 42 Telladega County Central 7

Hoover Has To Forfeit Wins

Hoover's run for another state title may have been derailed before it the playoffs begin.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association has ruled that the school used an ineligible player and will have to forfeit all of the games he played in. Right now, there's debate on how many games wide receiver Tristan Purifoy played in. Hoover's record stood at 6-1 before the AHSAA ruling, which noted that Purifoy was ineligible for two reasons...improper participation at Hoover before he enrolled, and not changing his residency in accordance with AHSAA rules

The Birmingham News is reporting that Purifoy played in all of the Bucs wins except the October 5th win over Minor. If that's true, Hoover's record would fall to 1-6 and leave the Bucs with no hope of qualifying for the post-season.

As it stands now, the AHSAA hasn't banned Hoover from the state playoffs if they are eligible. In addition to the forfeits, Hoover will have to pay a $2,000 fine, plus the Bucs will be on probation for three years.