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James Monroe coach Rich Serbay reacts to the crowd chanting his name during last night's win over Courtland. |
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
Rich Serbay's 24 years as head coach of James Monroe High School's football team have provided him plenty of warm memories.
He's guided JM to four state titles, which is tied for the most for any coach in the history of the Fredericksburg area.
But right now, Serbay is distraught.
That's because the defending Group AA, Division 3 champion Yellow Jackets yesterday forfeited six of their victories this season--and a spot in the playoffs--because they used an ineligible player.
"It's the first time this has ever happened to me," said Serbay, who has also been the school's athletic director for the past 13 years. "I take pride in my job and obviously, I made a big mistake. It's going to hurt my team, my program and the community. I'm in pain."
Serbay's pain could be eased today if the Yellow Jackets win the appeal they filed with the Virginia High School League.
The VHSL's communications director, Mike McCall, said appeals are usually heard every two weeks and the most recent one was held last Tuesday.
The VHSL's executive committee decided to expedite JM's appeal because the Region I, Division 3 playoffs, which JM qualified for, begin on Friday. Serbay said he will take part in a conference call with the VHSL's executive committee today.
McCall said the appeals process is "strictly based on merit."
"It's a lot to consider," McCall said. "It's simply based on, 'Does it meet the requirement to uphold the appeal or deny the appeal?'"
James Monroe first-year Principal John Gordon said the player is ineligible because this is his fifth year of high school, and the VHSL doesn't permit students to participate in athletics beyond their eighth semester of high school. Gordon said the unidentified player wasn't a starter.
Gordon said Serbay checked with guidance counselor Paulette Haw-thorne this past weekend after receiving a call from someone in the community saying the player was ineligible.
Gordon said Hawthorne informed Serbay that the player began high school in the 2005-06 school year at Spotsylvania County's Massaponax High School. He then transferred to JM, went to the regional alternative school in Fredericksburg and returned to JM, where he's been a student the past two years.
"I missed his entry date [at the alternative school]. There's nobody to blame but me," Serbay said. "I assumed the kid was a senior because of all the time he spent in alternative school.
"I assumed something I shouldn't have assumed and I paid the price. I blew it. I made a mistake and I feel really bad. I'm going to take it on the chin because it's my fault. I'm sorry."
Serbay reported the rules infraction to Gordon, Fredericksburg School Superintendent David Melton and the VHSL.
The coach also serves as the Yellow Jackets' athletic director and said before last night's makeup game against Courtland that he had resigned from that position, but that the resignation had not yet been accepted by JM's principal or the superintendent.
Serbay said faculty members and parents have encouraged him to rethink the resignation as athletic director, and, after a 10-6 win over Courtland last night, he said he will.
"My phone's been ringing off the hook, and no one wants me to resign," he said, "but I just feel so guilty. I overlooked something. I feel like a criminal."
Dennis Campbell, father of JM offensive lineman Will Campbell, said his son told him about the problem yesterday and was in tears.
"Of course, I'm devastated just like he is, but we're hoping for the best tonight, like it's their championship game," Campbell said before last night's game. "I don't think the [VHSL] is going to do much with [the appeal], because if you make an exception for James Monroe, you have to make an exception for every other team in the state.
"It was an honest mistake," Campbell said. "I guess the records just weren't as complete as they should be but I'm a firm believer
The VHSL's rules call for the forfeiture of games for the use of an ineligible player. The Yellow Jackets don't have to forfeit their 14-0 win over Orange in the third game of the season because the ineligible player didn't participate.
"This is probably one of the toughest things that has happened to James Monroe High School in a long time," Gordon said. "I want everybody to understand that coach Serbay has done an excellent job as football coach and athletic director. We're trying to get through this. Hopefully, what comes out of it is that people will look at James Monroe as more than just a football school."
Unless James Monroe wins its appeal, its game against Courtland last night was the final one of the season. If JM loses the appeal, the VHSL will release new power points today to determine who takes its playoff spot. And the Yellow Jackets won't be able to defend their 2008 Group AA, Division 3 state title.
"In my 13 years [as athletic director], this is the first one I missed," Serbay said of the eligibility error. "I feel really bad for my 52 players."
Sports Editor Steve DeShazo contributed to this story.
Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
Email: tcoghill@freelancestar.com
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THE FACTS: The JM player in question enrolled in the ninth grade at Spotsylvania's Massaponax High in the 2005-06 school year. The student is in his ninth semester of high school.
THE RULE: The Virginia High School League's Policy Manual, Section 28-7-1 contains a semester rule. "The student shall not have been enrolled in the last four years of high school for a period of more than eight consecutive semesters, beginning with the semester |
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James Monroe High yesterday forfeited six of its seven wins this season because one of the team's players was ineligible. The school has appealed to the Virginia High School League.
The VHSL will hear the appeal today because that decision will affect Friday's playoff schedule. |
