Hartford Public forfeit to Rocky Hill due to ineligible player

The forfeit by Hartford Public that sent CIAC playoff scenarios askew last Friday was caused by an ineligible athlete who recently had transferred to the school.

The student played in Hartford Public's first two games, an 18-14 victory over Rocky Hill on Sept. 9 and a 35-15 loss to East Catholic on Sept. 16.

“After the second game, it was brought to the attention of the athletic department that there might be some concerns with his transcript,” said Jesse Sugarman,

senior advisor for strategy and institutional advancement for Hartford Public Schools. “He was held out of future games until the close of the first marking period.

“He has since regained his eligibility.”

The CIAC made no formal announcement about the forfeit, although it did update its playoff standings Friday and tweet out the 1-0 forfeit victory by Hartford Public over Northwest Catholic and 1-0 forfeit loss to Rocky Hill. Northwest Catholic, Sugarman confirmed, had a lack of available players on Nov. 5. Attempts

to reach Northwest Catholic's athletic director and coach were unsuccessful.

Considering Hartford Public's forfeit to Rocky Hill had ramifications that spread through the Class MM, M and SS playoff standings at the 11th hour, it did raise the question why it took so long to make it official. Some schools have been helped. Others adversely affected.

A CIAC spokesman said the state's governing athletic body does not comment on eligibility-related issues.

The Hartford school district became involved in mid-October, according to Sugarman.

“When the concerns were validated, the report was issued to the CIAC last week,” Sugarman said.

The district athletic department did a comprehensive review to make sure this was an isolated case of ineligibility, according to Sugarman. That took additional time, but it did confirm there were no other cases.

The forfeit left Hartford Public at .500 before its 28-26 victory over New Britain on Friday night lifted the Owls to 5-4 heading into a Thanksgiving game against Weaver. Public currently sits at seventh in the Class M standings. Eight teams qualify.

According to GameTimeCT calculations, a victory over two-win Weaver doesn't automatically qualify Hartford Public for the playoffs, but it would take some long-shot scenarios to happen for both Branford and East Lyme to overtake Public.