Jones High happy to focus on a game

Embattled Jones football coach Elijah Williams said his team will welcome the chance to escape the scrutiny that has surrounded the program and focus on making plays tonight.

The Tigers, who gained an influx of transfer players from other Orange County Public Schools and became the subject of student record checks by state and school district officials, will play a 7 p.m. spring exhibition game at Wekiva.

“Lord knows, and everybody else knows, that Jones High has had some adversity,” Williams said on Wednesday. “It’s going to be refreshing that these kids can go out and play football and not worry about all the other stuff. Just escape all the rumors and the misconstrued truths.

“They can do what they’ve been practicing and what they love to do.”

Williams said the issue has been blown out of proportion in an open enrollment era that has seen many schools in the Orlando area gain new players every season.

The reported on April 30 that “more than 30” new players had come to Jones since Williams took the job in 2016 and led the Tigers to a 10-2 record last season.

“People are saying we had 30 transfers this school year. That’s not true,” Williams said. “We have 10 total that are practicing with this team.”

The school district said it was checking “questionable student record issues” at the Orlando school when former principal Roderick Waldon resigned on May 8.

Since then, OCPS has said little about the subject. When asked by the

if all Jones football players in question have been cleared to play on Thursday, district spokesperson Kathy Marsh offered only this email response: “Anyone participating Thursday is of course doing so under state eligibility guidelines.”

Craig Damon, compliance director for the Florida High School Athletic Association, visited Jones to check student records on May 16, but the FHSAA says the school is not under investigation.

“Orange County Public Schools has informed the FHSAA they will forward any FHSAA-related concerns once they conclude their research,” said FHSAA spokesperson Kyle Niblett. “We will not comment until we hear back from OCPS.”