In what has become a trend, a 3rd STL Area school has ducked Class 2 Trinity this season. The latest being Class 4 St. Charles this morning. Their official Twitter account sites the reason as "too many injured players". St. Charles, however, has enlisted the help of magic beans to assure their players are fully healed in time for next week's 1st round of District play.
Class 4 St. Charles forfeits to Trinity
- Thread starter crusader_2
- Start date
Trinity may not be tested, but at least they’ll be well rested.
Lutheran North just outed St. Charles. Turns out St. Charles attempted to convince Normandy to drop LN so St. Charles could play Normandy instead. So, St. Charles' official story that they're too injured to play Trinity this Friday is a lie. Obviously, St. Charles is unconcerned of any consequences because if they'd been successful in swaying Normandy it would've been clear what they'd done anyway. All the same. They're sticking to their lie.
If there's a fee stated in the contract between teams, that's the only penalty. MSHSAA has no stated recourse, so the only thing that can be done is to choose to not schedule the offending team in the future. Forfeiting at the last minute (or at all) is bad enough, but to attempt to convince another school to do the same so you can then schedule that team is shady af.
It appears that the "shady af" activities of Trinity and Lutheran North are resulting in "shady af" actions being taken by teams they have scheduled.
I've read a lot of comments about this, but have yet to read any "proof" of allegations. I'm not affiliated with any of the aforementioned schools in this discussion, but it sounds like a lot of momma bears whining and crying as opposed to any intelligent conversation with info that can be backed up with any sort of proof.
MSHSAA would disagree with you AND the people the "liked" your comment. If you know high school sports in Missouri then you know that MSHSAA isn't ANYONE'S friend. So, if your excuse is that somehow the fix is in and that Trinity and LN are receiving preferential treatment, then you're just making up fantasies. The rules are being followed and I doubt any two teams in Missouri get scrutinized my MSHSAA more than these two. There are people that believe the Earth isn't round and that we didn't land on the moon, too. Believe what you want. Life extends beyond high school football for these kids and it won't be the last time someone cries because they can't compete.
Yep. I'd be pretty upset if teams fabricated injuries to avoid playing my team, too. What kind of proof do you want? If YOU were willing to pull any of this would YOU be dumb enough to put it in writing? What kind of "intelligent conversation" is going to happen on this message board? Another thread with 200 comments about which fictional QB is the greatest? MSHSAA has no rules requiring teams to provide proof of injury or any consequences for faking them. If you're looking for that smoking gun, you're unlikely to get it ... unless, of course, you've spoken to parents, students, coaches and administrators involved in these situations. The proof exists in the fact that St. Charles was healthy enough to play last week and magically expects to be fit enough to play next week. "Proof" isn't necessary for clowns to allege that Trinity and Lutheran North are cheating, and that hasn't stopped the peanut gallery online from whining about it. Why don't you reach out to the HCs involved and let them break it down for you?
Rules and ethics are not the same thing. The "letter of the law" and "intent of the law" are also different. MSHSAA just enforces the rules, they do not determine if the rules are fair and ethical.
I agree with you though that private schools have to recruit outside of normal school district boundaries because they can't compete without doing so.
Until schools that do not abide by school district (or even state) boundaries have their own class, this will continue to be a problem.
And quit whining when others call out the special treatment received by private schools.
I'm not going to reach out to anyone because I'm not alleging any wrong doing. Nor do I have any interest in administering some kind of judgement or justice. Just an observer.
Well, if you want proof (or even a more detailed explanation) that's the best suggestion I have. When I first heard about Clayton and Priory dropping Lutheran North and Trinity this Summer, I spoke to coaches, parents and players involved to find out what was what. I did the same for the subsequent forfeits and the allegation that St. Charles reached out to Normandy. I was curious, so I went and asked enough people to find out what the majority of people involved were willing to confirm happened ... and I'm posting it here. You do what you feel you need to/want to do to satisfy yourself.
I'll do nothing other than challenge those that make strong statements to back up what they have said. And, your post above does just that. Much stronger than your original announcement.
I haven't mentioned "special treatment received by private schools", so you have me confused with someone else. Rules are rules and they're being followed. I won't debate with you whether those rules are ethical because it's subjective. Either you cross into the endzone or you don't. That's what makes it a TD.
Parents know what a private school is. They don't need to be incentivized to consider whether a private school is best for their kid anymore than they need to be convinced to live in a certain area so they can send their kid to a public school. It all comes down to a family's CHOICE for their kid. Public schools don't own the kids that live in their district and it isn't any more unethical or questionable for a family to transfer schools than it is for you to change jobs, get a divorce or move out of your home.
Last edited:
I feel you ... because I challenge people when they accuse schools of cheating. Carl Reed is the HC of Lutheran North and Corey Patterson is the HC at Trinity. Their twitter profiles are public and they speak on the details of what happened.
EVERY transfer is automatically ineligible in Missouri. The only way a kid can get an exception to play immediately and not have to sit a year is to appeal to MSHSAA and provide documentation that proves they qualify to play immediately. In other words, every family is treated as though they're transferring for athletic reasons unless they prove otherwise. With a spotlight on them and so many people crying about how unfair it is to change schools, do you think MSHSAA is LESS critical of transfers to a school that gets that much attention?
For the record, families transfer all the time and not just to Trinity.
MSHSAA rules say a team must
That was supposed to change, a few years ago when MSHSAA officials were called on the carpet in Jefferson City because of blatant basket recruiting in the STL area that was supposed to change. MSHSAA officials agreed to investigate any and all complaints about schools breaking rules.
It didn't take them long to announce that they were stopping that practice, all happened back when DESE was looking at doing away with MSHSAA
I believe the only time MSHSAA investigates anything is if an AD would make formal complaint.
That was supposed to change, a few years ago when MSHSAA officials were called on the carpet in Jefferson City because of blatant basket recruiting in the STL area that was supposed to change. MSHSAA officials agreed to investigate any and all complaints about schools breaking rules.
It didn't take them long to announce that they were stopping that practice, all happened back when DESE was looking at doing away with MSHSAA
All I know is what the transfer rules are as stated by MSHSAA. Feel free to go to MSHSAA's site and read the transfer rules for yourself. Every transfer is ineligible for a year unless they are granted an exception and, to get one, families must prove they qualify with documentation. It is what it is.
All motives/conspiracies aside... are there any effects that having multiple forfeits on your record creates? Does it still count as a win, and if so, what points are awarded?
I would imagine both of these teams will power through districts with no problem until facing each other so it probably is a mute point, but just curious how the forfeits could affect seeding, which could in turn affect home field advantage later in the playoffs....
I would imagine both of these teams will power through districts with no problem until facing each other so it probably is a mute point, but just curious how the forfeits could affect seeding, which could in turn affect home field advantage later in the playoffs....
I would have been PISSED off if my coach forfeited one of my games, or if this happened to my son's team. What a horrible message being sent to your kids, school, and community. I was on some teams that were turbo clocked before the turbo clock rule was put into place. We still played all four quarters and didn't quit. This is wrong on so many levels.
A forfeit counts as a loss for the team that does it and a 13 point win for the other team. District points are the same as if the teams played with a 13 point margin of victory. There are no consequences for forfeits other than schools questioning your credibility to play your schedule and the shame associated with quitting.
probably not nearly as bad as the shame associated with CHEATING
It took a hardcover book being published before MSHSAA investigate Vashon and stripped them of 4 state titles in Basketball. EVERYONE in the state knew they were cheating ,, MSHSAA is directed by some very highly paid people who are only interested in their gravy train rolling along
Then get your ass kicked by cheaters, whine and complain about it afterward, don't make your kids a bunch of quitters!
You mean like the shame Clayton bathed in when they had their undefeated season taken from them for knowingly using an illegal player in the mid-2000s?
You're really looking desperate if you think MSHSAA somehow is tipping the scales to favor Trinity and Lutheran North, but, whatever man. People in STL are still butt hurt because the Rams left two years ago and the Cardinals left in the 80s. Believe what you want to. Crying because you don't like or understand the rules and can't accept it when someone makes a choice for their kids that you don't agree with is entirely up to you.
Hating on kids and teams for enjoying success is pretty lame.
Hey, I'm not making any accusations. If you're gonna throw the term "shady af" around, it applies to both sides.
My suggestion for those teams that don't want to play them is to not schedule them in the future, which I'm sure they won't. I think there is a growing number of folks who are tired of the private school's real or perceived different set of rules. As far as the AD's on checking the box, I think a lot of that is like the excuse notes I get for PE class, in that the doctor gives them out because it's not worth the headache. Joey is out for two weeks with a sprained ankle, and then you see Joey running down the hall. Kid wants to transfer, AD checks the box OK just to avoid the headache. All a reflection of our society.
St Charles likely scheduled this game when Trinity was not as good as they are now, thinking they would get the beat down W, tables turned, they run and hide. Agree 100% about our weenie society!
Kids transfer into public schools, too. Public schools in Missouri have residency requirements to attend them. Are you suggesting that when a family moves from Kirkwood to Columbia that their kid should be eligible immediately if they go to Hickman but ineligible if they enroll their kid into Tolton?
That is precisely what happened, as a matter of fact. St. Charles was fine with playing Trinity the past 3 years when they were a Class 2 team that had never won Districts. Now that they don't have a likely win for a 2-win Class 4 team, they're crying hurt.
What a coincidence that five of the ten highest rated football recruits out of the 2019 Missouri class had legit reasons to move to Trinity the same year 
What a coincidence that five of the ten highest rated football recruits out of the 2019 Missouri class had legit reasons to move to Trinity the same year
What a coincidence that five of the ten highest rated football recruits out of the 2019 Missouri class had legit reasons to move to Trinity the same year
They all entered Trinity as freshmen. I don't know what grade levels kids enter high school where YOU'RE from but in this part of the state kids change schools entering the 9th grade. Given that they have the same coach and match one another's efforts, it's no coincidence that they've been recognized for their talents and work. You sound jealous.
Nice try, though.
Hopefully with all their D-1 talent and hard work they can figure out how to beat a small town class 2 program that builds from the bottom up with teamwork and discipline this year
