Hayfield (Virginia) football appeal denied; Hawks banned from state playoffs

VHSL has banned the program from the 2024 and 2024 postseason

A dominant 2024 regular season was all for naught for the Hayfield football team after the program was slapped with a two year ban from the Virginia state playoffs. / Stephen Williams/Shot by DMV Steve

The undefeated Hayfield High football team will not participate in the 2024 and 2025 Virginia state public school state football playoffs after the state athletic association denied its final appeal Friday.

The Alexandria school, currently ranked No. 3 in High School On SI's Top 25 Virginia High School Football Rankings, was cleared, after a two-month investigation by the Fairfax County school system into allegations that several players that had transferred from Freedom-Woodbridge High were not living in the Hayfield's school district. According to several reports in July, as many as 30 players followed first-year Hawks' coach Darryl Overton from Freedom-Woodbridge High in Woodbridge to Hayfield. Overton won two Class 6 state championships at his former school.

Overton also brought several coaches with him from Freedom-Woodbridge which sparked outrage from parents and existing coaches at Hayfield, ultimately leading Fairfax County to launch its investigations into the program.

---

Hayfield football facing a two-year ban from VHSL state playoffs

---

In July, according to the Fairfax Times, the Fairfax County Coaches Association sent a letter to the Superintendent at Fairfax County Public Schools stating that the scandal at Hayfield raised "serious concerns" and "red flags."

In late August, Fairfax County Public Schools cleared Hayfield.

“A thorough external review did not substantiate the allegations of student-athlete recruitment violations and confirms that Hayfield student-athletes meet residency requirements," Fairfax County Public Schools said in a release on its website. "An external investigation of allegations of retaliation against FCPS employees concluded that they too were unsubstantiated."

The VHSL, however, exercised its right to conduct a separate investigation. According to the Washington Post, the VHSL’s initial report found that 14 players transferred from Freedom to Hayfield after Overton was hired in February. In addition, the program added five transfers from private schools and five incoming students.

The VHSL determined those transfers were made so that student-athletes could play football at Hayfield and violated the league’s proselytizing rule, which states that schools or groups of individuals representing schools can’t subject a student from another school to “undue influence” by encouraging them to transfer to participate in VHSL activities.

The league recommended the two-year postseason ban in late October. Hayfield appealed. The matter was taken to the league’s sportsmanship committee, who had the option to uphold the VHSL’s recommendation, increase or decrease the organization’s recommended probation period or revoke the penalties. 

According to the Washington Post, the committee voted Wednesday to uphold the league’s two-year postseason ban. Hayfield took its final action by appealing to a three-member subcommittee of the VHSL’s executive committee. That group upheld the league’s two-year postseason ban Friday.

The Hawks (8-1), who have lost only to Maryland power Riverdale Baptist School, are currently the No. 1 team in Class 6, Region C are scheduled to play their final regular season game Friday at Lewis.