Foothill High School’s football team started the season with seven wins in seven games. Now, none of those victories remain in the record books.
The California Interscholastic Federation ruled this week that the Bakersfield-area school used two ineligible players, forcing Foothill to forfeit all seven of its wins and lose its undefeated standing.
Mike Biezard, Foothill’s athletic director, said the CIF had initially approved both athletes to play. The school later received a letter reversing that decision and declaring the players ineligible.
Biezard told ABC News that schools do not independently confirm the addresses students provide during the eligibility process. That responsibility, he said, belongs to the CIF.
The athletic director said he still does not know what prompted the investigation into the two players. It also remains unclear which specific eligibility requirements the athletes or the school allegedly violated.
Foothill kicker Rolando Correa criticized the ruling, saying the penalty has placed a major burden on the team and its players.
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“I feel like it’s not right just to go to high schools and ruin their seasons. I feel like they should just let kids play ball,” he told the news outlet.
Foothill is not the only Bakersfield-area program affected by a recent CIF eligibility decision. Earlier this month, Garces Memorial High School was ordered to forfeit four of its five wins for a similar issue.
The CIF had previously approved brothers Carter and Bryce Hanson Garces after they transferred from rival Liberty High School during the offseason, but the governing body later reversed that determination.
On Aug. 17, the federation had granted both brothers full eligibility, classifying their move from Liberty as a “valid change of residency.”
The CIF later changed their status from “valid change of residency” to “denied,” barring both players from competing for the remainder of the football season.
Although Garces Memorial won five consecutive games on the field, the ruling reduced the Rams’ official record to 1-5.