ocvarsity-football1
After the CIF Southern Section denied the transfer requests by three Nogales football players making them ineligible, the Nobles took the next step and forfeited the three games that two of the players participated in, a source confirmed for the Southern California News Group on Tuesday.
Nogales informed Sierra Vista, Wilson and Pomona on Tuesday that it would be forfeiting the games — all wins by the Nobles — against those teams. Nogales’ overall record is now 1-5.
Quarterback Sebastian Lopez, a transfer from Adelanto, and Kelvin Shepard, a transfer from New York, had their transfer requests denied Monday by the CIF-SS, making them ineligible for the rest of the season.
The CIF-SS did not give a reason for denying the transfer requests.
Shepard did not participate in the Nobles’ first game, but was cleared in the transfer portal for a valid change of address prior to the team’s game against Sierra Vista. He was still listed as cleared for the Nobles’ next two games, against Wilson and Pomona.
Shepard was then placed in “under review” status prior to Nogales’ game against Rowland on Sept. 22. He did not play in that game and did not play in last week’s loss to Hoover.
Lopez was never cleared and did not participate in any games.
Nogales came under fire for how it handled a third transfer player, Camryn Higgins, a senior from St. Pius X-St. Matthias.
Higgins did not play in the Nobles’ first game while he waited for his transfer request to be approved. Higgins was granted a valid change of address transfer by the CIF-SS before the Nobles’ second game, against Sierra Vista. He played in that game and the following week against Wilson.
However, Higgins was placed in “under review” status prior to Nogales’ game against Pomona on Sept. 14, but the school allowed him to play anyway, and the Nobles won the contest 51-13.
Nogales coach Gus Martinez said he had support from the school’s principal, Scott Cavanias, and the athletic department when he allowed Higgins to play although his transfer was listed as “under review.”
Martinez said the “under review” status is “very vague” but many other coaches and athletic administrators told SCNG the rule is clear. Being “under review” made him ineligible to play.
A week later, just hours before Nogales’ game against Rowland on Sept. 22, Higgins’ transfer request was denied.
The CIF-SS office generally grants change of address transfers that are certified by the receiving school. However, if the CIF-SS office receives new information that it needs to investigate, players can be reclassified to “under review” status until that investigation is complete.
If it is later determined that a transfer request does not meet the CIF-SS requirement and that player is declared ineligible, the school is required to forfeit any games the player participated in, which Nogales did Tuesday.
CIF Southern Section assistant commissioner Thom Simmons was asked a couple of weeks ago whether there could be sanctions levied against Nogales for allowing Higgins to play while he was “under review.” He stated: “No decision has been made on the disposition of Nogales High School at this time. The investigation is ongoing. Until we complete our due diligence, we don’t have anything more to say.”
On Monday, the status for Lopez and Shepard was changed to ineligible, making them, along with Higgins, unable to play the rest of the season.
The CIF-SS did not comment on the reasons for the decisions.
Reached Tuesday, Simmons did not rule out further sanctions against Nogales, but nothing appears imminent.
“Investigations for wrongdoing do not stop simply with forfeitures,” Simmons said. “Whenever credible evidence is provided to this office, we will investigate it.”
Nogales’ next game is at home against Los Altos on Friday before its begins Hacienda League play the following week.
Originally published at Fred Robledo