Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

MT. VERNON — The Mt. Vernon Rams’ surprising run toward a spot in the football playoffs has suffered a setback.
The school announced the team will have to forfeit two of its wins due to having an ineligible player on the roster.

In a release sent to the media, the school announced it was notified of the potential issue, investigated, self-reported to the IHSA and removed the player from the roster. The IHSA ruled wins over Triad and Althoff must be forfeited.

The issue came because the district did not complete proper documentation to verify eligibility of a transfer student.
The release says the school has taken steps to make sure this does not happen again, and that a plan will be submitted to the IHSA.

“At no time did any member of the MVTHS football coaching staff have any knowledge of the eligibility of this player. Administration would like to apologize to our coaches, players, staff, and community for the procedural oversight. We are proud of our athletic programs and look forward to moving past this situation,” school officials noted in the release.

It has been an incredible turnaround this season for the Rams in Dan Mings’ first season of his second tenure as head coach. After winning only four of 33 games the past four seasons, the Rams had won five of six this season and could’ve clinched a playoff spot with a win Friday night at home against Cahokia.

Instead, Mt. Vernon is now 3-3, 2-1 in the South 7 and has work to do to make the playoffs, with conference games against the Comanches and rival Centralia as well as a non-conference game at unbeaten Mt. Carmel left on the schedule.