Westhill forfeits four wins

Westhill had to forfeit four wins Tuesday for using an ineligible player.

Read the article posted by the Stamford Advocate's Dave Ruden:

The Westhill High School football team, reveling in its best season in 25 years under first-year coach Frank Marcucio, was jolted Tuesday morning when it was forced to forfeit four of its five victories for using an ineligible player.

School officials learned of the violation, involving a defensive starter who is a fifth-year senior, on Monday, and Westhill athletic director Mike King reported the incident to the CIAC, the state’s governing body for high school sports, later that day.

CIAC executive director Karissa Niehoff said on Tuesday morning that it had yet to receive the official report but that the organization was taking actions as if the violation were verified.

“If I had an idea the kid was ineligible he wouldn’t have played,” Marcucio said on Tuesday.

HOW IT AFFECTS THE STATE PLAYOFFS

The situation also impacted the state playoffs, most notably in Class LL.
If West Haven wins against Fairfield Prep, West Haven will earn the eighth, and final, spot in that division. However, if West Haven loses, it opens the door for Ridgefield to qualify.

Ruden writes:

Teams that went to bed Monday night with dire hopes woke up Tuesday morning to renewed optimism because of a shifting of bonus points in the CIAC’s scoring system. Perhaps the team that benefited the most was Ridgefield, which now can qualify for a berth in the Class LL field with a win against Danbury and a victory by Fairfield Prep over West Haven.

The situation also had an impact on another of Westhill’s intra-city rivals. Trinity Catholic would have automatically qualified for the Class S Tournament with a win on Thursday at Wilton. The Crusaders are still in a strong position, but they will now need a little bit of outside help.