When is a forfeit actually a forfeit?

By Sheldon Shealer

Prince George's County has spoken! Apparently, the state is not listening -- at least not yet.

Last Wednesday, the P.G. County Office of Interscholastic Athletics ruled that Eleanor Roosevelt must forfeit a game for recruiting violations.

So, why is Roosevelt still considered undefeated?

No documentation has been forwarded to the MPSSAA regarding this decision, so as far as the MPSSAA is concerned, Eleanor Roosevelt is 4-0 following Tuesday's victory.

This situation, obviously, is far from over, and it's beginning to get complicated.

As a quick review, Bowie High School filed a complaint on July 26 that Eleanor Roosevelt coach Rick Houchens tried to persuade Bowie standout Reggie Holmes to transfer to Roosevelt for his senior year during a chance encounter at a basketball game last school year. The county appointed a panel to review the accusation and ultimately decided to reprimand Houchens and make Roosevelt forfeit its first game of the season -- a 28-8 win over Suitland. Roosevelt school officials have appealed the decision and is challenging it on several fronts, most notably on the county's vague definition of recruiting.

Here's where it starts to get complicated. Who does Roosevelt appeal to? The P.G. County Board of Education -- which appointed the review panel in the first place? The MPSSAA? Will it end up in court? One P.G. official was quoted in The Washington Post as saying the appeal must be made to the MPSSAA. However, Jon Cox, the football state chairman, says the MPSSAA has no jurisdiction in this matter because the state does not have any bylaw regarding recruiting. "We have no state rule regarding proselytizing (recruiting). That's a local decision," Cox said. "If they have a county rule, then they can deal with it."

There are many questions left unanswered in the original decision, such as why did the panel chose to make Roosevelt forfeit the first game of the season? Why not forfeit the contest involving Bowie? What would have been the penalty had Roosevelt lost its first game of the season? (A moot point, perhaps, but one worth mentioning). Also, if the infraction involving the coach is upheld, why penalize the team instead of the person found in violation? There are many other questions surrounding the process, which Roosevelt officials say they will challenge.

Many of the key persons involved have been instructed not to comment publicly about the topic.

Still, this case is worth watching simply because the outcome will no doubt affect not only the 4A playoff race, but perhaps the entire state in regards to idea of "recruiting" and how it is defined and dealt with.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Barrington Edwards, Bowie, rushed for 245 yards on 26 carries, including a 92-yard TD, as Bowie defeated state-ranked Douglass-PG, 26-16.

Dennis Hardy, Easton, rushed for 268 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries -- part of Easton's 61-rush, 511-yard effort in a 37-21 victory over Parkside.

Marcus Mason, Georgetown Prep, rushed for 245 yards and four TDs on 22 attempts as the Little Hoyas put down Loyola, 41-7.

Brandon Monroe, St. James, broke an 89-yard TD run with 1:15 left, snapping a tie game and lifting St. James to a 44-38 victory over Potomac School (Va.). Monroe finished with 221 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries.

IN CASE YOU WHERE WONDERING

Wondering where the MPSSAA points standings are? If so, you're not alone. Jon Cox, the football state chairman, has received plenty of e-mail wondering why the points standings have not been published. There's one simple answer -- the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the resulting postponements created a problem that Cox's computer software could not handle. The program would not allow him to enter scheduled Week 4 results without already having Week 2 and 3 results in the system. Therefore, Cox had to wait until Tuesday's games in P.G. County were played in order to run the statistical program without fear of the system crashing. Usually, the MPSSAA points standings are released following the third week of the season and every week after. It now appears this year's first installment of the ratings will debut sometime Wednesday.

STREAK BUSTERS

Bowie ended Douglass-PG's 17-game undefeated streak, 26-16 last weekend. Bowie jumped out to a 19-0 lead before Douglass rallied to make it 19-16 before Bowie put the contest away in the fourth quarter. ... Hereford gave Eastern Tech a rude awakening to the Baltimore County 2A-1A League. Hereford won, 33-0, in the contest touted as the game to decide the league title. The loss ended Eastern Tech's eight-game regular-season win streak. Meanwhile, Hereford stretched its regular-season win streak to 25. Old Mill's seven-game regular-season win streak ended with a 14-13 loss to Broadneck. ... Hammond snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 12-3 victory over previously undefeated Mount Hebron.

AROUND THE STATE (Week 4 Notes)

Centennial coach Ed Holshue collected his 100th career victory. ... Gilman running back Malcolm Ruff verbally committed to Duke over the weekend, giving the Baltimore private school three verbals to ACC schools. Mike Dowling, Gilman's fullback, has also verballed to Duke. ... Montgomery County schools has canceled the football games originally scheduled to have been played Sept. 14 and 15, leaving all its schools with nine-game schedules. Cox confirmed the decision Tuesday. Montgomery County looked at ways to make-up the games, but not decision was reached, so the games are lost. ... Dunbar has scored 50 or more points in three of four games this season. ... No team has scored twice on DeMatha in its last five games. No team has scored twice on Georgetown Prep this season. And no team has scored twice on Urbana since 1999! ... Glenelg's 35-0 win over Howard was the program's 10th straight regular-season victory. ... Hereford has scored 190 points in four games. If the Bulls can carry that pace through the state final, the team will score a staggering 617 points -- the state record, set by Hereford in 1997, is 602 points. ... Largo has scored only 13 points this year, but went into Tuesday's game with a 2-1 record. ... Richard Montgomery has not been scored on in its three games this season. ... Talk about a rough stretch, Loyola is riding a three-game losing streak and its next four opponents are state No. 6 McDonogh, Landon, Mount St. Joseph and No. 7 Gilman. Those four follow Loyola's recent losses to Gonzaga (D.C.), Urbana and Georgetown Prep.

LOOKING AHEAD

Seneca Valley at Gaithersburg, Friday. When was the last time this clash was meaningless? Seneca Valley is riding a three-game win streak and carries a state Top 5 ranking into the contest. Gaithersburg, after getting upset by Magruder in the opener, has won two in a row to maintain a high state ranking.

Damascus at Sherwood, Friday. Damascus jumps right into the Class 4A League mix with a showdown with last year's state runner-up Sherwood. Both teams are 3-0.

City College at Patterson, Friday. City College has quietly rolled up a seven-game win streak (the last three of 2000 and the first four this year). City will be challenged by Patterson, also 4-0.

Gilman at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Poly Prep, Saturday. Poly Prep is rated No. 45 in the Student Sports Fab 50. The team features Penn State-bound lineman Kwa Kou Robinson, a 6-4, 310-pound lineman. This match-up brings about a fair gauge of Md. vs. N.Y. football. After this week, Gilman would have played both the state No. 1s from Maryland (DeMatha) and New York (Poly Prep). I'll get coach Biff Poggi's call on this next week.