CIF Central Section rules against Wasco; Tigers forced to forfeit game
| Thursday, Oct 08 2009 11:28 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Oct 08 2009 11:28 PM
The CIF Central Section has declared that Wasco has forfeited tonight's football game at Fresno-McLane.
There's just one problem: Wasco doesn't think it's forfeiting anything.
Wasco athletic director Raul Rangel said he has been in contact with the Fresno Unified School District on the issue since May, when McLane discovered that it wouldn't have a field available tonight. The FUSD asked if Wasco would agree to move the game to Thursday night.
Wasco declined; the high school is part of the California School Improvement Program and so is mandated to improve grades and test scores. The school's administration was concerned that a Thursday night game in Fresno would mean late travel hours for students who had to get up for school in the morning.
"We'd get home at 1 a.m. at the best," Rangel said. "And then kids have to get up for school at 6:30? This is not a football factory. We're trying to educate kids."
Throughout the summer, Rangel said he tried to find other accommodations for the game: Playing on Saturday or playing the game at Wasco, with the Tigers sharing a portion of the gate with McLane and even packing meals for its players to eat on the bus back home.
"I thought we were being more than generous," Rangel said.
But all of the options were either declined by McLane or never communicated from the FUSD to McLane, Rangel said. He also said he documented every correspondence he sent or received.
Eventually, the schools decided the game couldn't be played; Wasco (4-1) originally had an 11-game schedule because the section granted it an exemption to fill out Kennedy's schedule.
But the Porterville-based section and its commissioner, Jim Crichlow, said a game cannot simply be a cancellation unless sickness or other circumstances exist. Therefore, Crichlow said, the game would officially be a Wasco forfeit.
"We just can't say it's a non-game," said Crichlow, who added that the so-called defeat would not count against Wasco in Division IV playoff seeding. "When a team refuses to play, then it has to go down as a forfeit."
Rangel said the teams' contract specifically mentions the date of Oct. 9 and so by moving the game from Friday, McLane reneged on the deal first.
"We never forfeited anything," he said. "Does it sound to you like we forfeited? And the commissioner's going to have a fight on his hands."
Wasco's Sanchez recovering
In last week's Wasco game, a 35-28 victory at home against Corcoran, senior center Abraham Sanchez suffered head trauma during a scramble for a loose fumble.
After four hours of surgery Friday night at Kern Medical Center and several days in a medically-induced coma, Rangel said Sanchez is breathing on his own and recovering.
"(Wednesday) he looked really good," Rangel said. "Of course it's going to be a long fight, but he is doing better."
Wasco has set up a bank account to help Sanchez's family pay for his medical expenses; to donate, contact any Kern Schools Federal Credit Union branch and deposit into the Abraham Sanchez Relief Fund.
Frontier's Darr to play in All-American Bowl
Frontier senior and USC football commit Matt Darr will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January in San Antonio, a showcase for high school seniors around the U.S.
The bowl game will announce Darr's selection at Frontier on Tuesday.
Frontier fundraiser
Jim Burke Ford is teaming up with Frontier on a unique fundraiser Saturday.
The car dealership will have a collection of new Fords at Frontier from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and each time one is test-driven, Jim Burke will donate $20 to Frontier activities and athletics, up to $6,000.
Participants must be 18 or older with a valid driver's license.
