FHSAA hands down sanctions to another South Florida football program

Doral Academy was found to have used a student-athlete prior to the sixth school day of attendance

Another day and another South Florida high school football program hit with a forfeit, fines.

High School On SI Florida has been furnished with the sanctions letter sent by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) to Doral Academy, with the Gainesville association assessing a forfeit in the Firebirds' Oct. 18th win over Spanish River due to a student-athlete playing in game before the sixth day of attendance. The FHSAA also fined the school $200 and placed on administrative probation until Nov. 6th, 2025.

Doral Academy self-reported incident, which broke the FHSAA bylaw 9.3.3 and Policy 16.6.2 as the rules is read down below:

Bylaw 9.3.3, a transfer student who qualifies under Bylaw 9.3.2 will be eligible for competition on the sixth school day of attendance at the new school if: (a) The school has received and evaluated the student’s official transcript provided by his/her former school; and (b) The school has determined that the student meets all eligibility requirements.

Policy 16.6.2, a Non-Traditional student is eligible to participate provided: (b) the student registers with the school his/her intent to participate in interscholastic athletic competition as a representative of the school before participation (note, for the purposes of registering intent ONLY, the beginning of the sport season shall be the first day the student participates in the sport).

The Firebirds drop to 5-4 on the season just before the FHSAA's official high school football bracket reveal takes place tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. As of the latest seedings, the Firebirds were slated to be the No. 5 seed out of Cass 6A, Region 4 and will find out tonight if the forfeiture moves them down or out of the postseason.

Doral Academy becomes the latest South Florida school to be docked with sanctions from the FHSAA in the last couple of weeks, with Miami Central, Miami Norland and Western also seeing reprimands from the assocation.

Andy's Rant: Forfeit epidemic sweeping the high school football landscape

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl