An ineligible player for Charleston has given the Choctaw County Chargers a case to remain in the Class 2A basketball playoffs.
A source said on Monday that the Chargers have appealed a decision from the Mississippi High School Activities Association that would allow Charleston to continue playing this season and keep Choctaw County at home. The ruling came after the MHSAA was notified of a player that transferred from another school in the state earlier this year and has been playing for Charleston this semester.
The appeal from the Chargers is for the game to be ruled a forfeit for the Tigers and award a win to Choctaw County. According to the MHSAA rulebook in Section 4 under Penalty Codes and Article 4 that discusses forfeitures, “a contest in which an ineligible player is allowed to participate shall be forfeited to the opposing school and any team and individual events/honors won shall also be forfeited.”
The ruling also states that in the instance of a playoff forfeit, “only the team awarded the forfeit in the most advanced round of play in the state playoffs/tournament shall be reinstated.” That team would be Choctaw County as laid out by the governing body.
An attempt for clarification and comment from the MHSAA was made but a call was unreturned. The Chargers are hoping to hear about a resolution by today because Choctaw County is unable to practice until reinstated or risk penalty for practicing out of season.
That ineligible Charleston player competed for another school in the fall in football and basketball and has since been playing basketball. The Tigers started the season 0-8 before ripping off eight wins in the last 12 games. They went 6-2 in Class 2A, Region 2 play and finished second in the district tournament.
Leland match
On February 15, the Choctaw County varsity basketball team won their home playoff game against Leland (MS) by a score of 73-69.
