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Hernando Today

Hudson Forfeits Win Vs. Leopards

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By BART O'CONNELL

Tribune correspondent

Published: September 30, 2008

HUDSON - Due to what Hudson football coach Mark Nash described as a "clerical error," the Cobras were forced to forfeit their lone victory of the 2008 season, Sept. 12's 33-3 nod at Cobra Field against Hernando, after using an unnamed ineligible player.

The unidentified player, who saw the bulk of his action on special teams and was in his fourth year playing for the Cobras, has been eligible in previous seasons, up until spring practices. But Nash said he, "became ineligible in the second semester of his junior year," declining to address specifics.

The development initially slipped past Hudson administrators who check eligibility statistics for all athletes, but was uncovered during an unrelated parent-administrator conference. The violation was self-reported to the FHSAA last week, and a letter was sent to Hernando informing them of the forfeit per FHSAA rules.

"It's an unfortunate situation. It was completely a human error," Nash said. "We do plan to make some changes to our protocol in this process, a few more checks and balances."

The mistake wipes away the Cobra win dropping Hudson to 0-3 overall. Dating back to last season, Hudson has now dropped five straight contests.

According to Hudson, two days after the game and before the violation was reported, the player quit the team for unrelated reasons.

"It's embarrassing because we pride ourselves on doing the right thing. It's not like we were trying to sneak a player in," Nash said. "We're not going to make the same mistake again."

With the forfeit win, Hernando's record stands at 2-2 overall.

Since FDR

Interestingly, it was the first time since Franklin D. Roosevelt was in office that the Purple and Gold received a forfeit win in football.

On Sept. 27, 1940, Gulf edged HHS Head Coach Wilburn Hubbard's team, 7-6. Gulf, however, was ruled to have utilized an ineligible player, handing the Purple and Gold its first win of that season.

Sports Editor Tony Castro contributed to this report.

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