The last few days have been very hectic for the Division 2 teams from Mansfield and Bishop Feehan. Word broke out on December 1 that Mansfield would have to forfeit its game against Bishop Feehan that was to take place the following day. Mansfield’s forfeit would in turn push Bishop Feehan into the Superbowl. Even though Bishop Feehan essentially got a bye into the Super Bowl, most Mansfield and Bishop Feehan fans alike declared the forced forfeit unfair. The truth behind the controversy was that a coach was not cheating or doing anything ill-willed; rather, he was simply trying to get all of his players playing time – an act that should not be punishable.
The official ruling was that Mansfield was using a player who had already used up his four years of football eligibility. By playing in two of the games that Mansfield won the MIAA felt that the player, Andy Rapp, had an outcome on the game. In truth, Rapp only played in seven total plays between two different games. Essentially, Rapp was also only put in when the game had seemingly been won by Mansfield, or more simply, Rapp played the scrub time. Rapp had no direct effect on the outcome of the games – again, he only played seven plays. Nevertheless, the MIAA punished Mansfield by declaring the two games that Rapp played in as losses. This hurt Mansfield’s record and bumped North Attleboro into first place of the Hockomock League.
Although the Rocketeers of North Attleboro were the newly crowned Hockomock League Champions and would face Bishop Feehan in the playoffs, the Rocketeers were not ready to play a game with in the next two days. The players and coaches had been done with football for over a week and were not prepared. Due to this rushed and haphazard game scheduling, Bishop Feehan was named winner by default and would face the winner of the Walpole versus Reading game at Gillette Stadium.
With no surprise, a case was soon filed by Mansfield in opposition of the ruling. The Mansfield Athletic Director said that the ineligible player who was at the root of all of this upheaval had no effect on the outcome of the two games that he played in. He was put in toward the end of the game, when Mansfield already had a clear victory. The coach was just trying to give the boy some playing time. The judge over turned the MIAA’s ruling feeling that the Mansfield coach was trying to do the right thing and was being honest by coming out and telling the truth and not hiding it. So after all, the Mansfield Hornets and the Bishop Feehan Golden Knights faced off against each other. The winner of that game would then play Walpole in the Division 2 super bowl at Gillette stadium.
The MIAA still decided to meet in court again to talk about Mansfield’s eligibility. Although Mansfield lost to Walpole in the Superbowl and did not win the Eastern Mass Championship, their Hockomock league championship title might still be revoked. Many players, even Walpole players, felt that The Hornets deserved to be where they are and keep the titles that they won. The MIAA, however, sees the rules as black and white. Mansfield did break the rules, and the MIAA feels that they should be punished.
The MIAA’s decision over whether or not Mansfield should be awarded the Hockomock league title is coming out later in the week. The decision most likely will be to revoke Mansfield tittle and award it to North Attleboro. The decision will be looked upon with scoured eyes. Whether or not the rules should be rewritten is a different story, but there should be some leniency allowed. The entire team should not be penalized for a coach’s selfless mistake. If any penalty was to be enforced, it should have just been against the coach. Mansfield’s head coach should have been suspended for a game or two for his error. Then, no conflict would have arose. Hopefully, the MIAA will learn from the can of worms it opened and take better actions when resolving similar situations when they arise again.
