Cap 6, Northern Wake high school football conference titles coming down to the wire
Cardinal Gibbons, Clayton, Cleveland, and Leesville Road — all undefeated in league play — cemented opportunities to compete for conference championships two weeks before their October 27 regular season finales. The quartet combined to outscore opponents 194-6 Friday.
Cardinal Gibbons — playing adjacent to the ongoing N.C. State Fair and a Travis Scott show in PNC Arena — shut out Sanderson, 50-0. The Crusaders’ defense has held three conference opponents scoreless in 10 of 12 quarters thus far.
Cardinal Gibbons will host Leesville Road — a 49-0 winner over visiting Enloe this week — on October 27, when either the Crusaders or Pride will become the Cap Six 4A Conference champion.
Among Greater Neuse River 4A Conference play, Clayton shutout Corinth-Holders, 44-0, and Cleveland stopped Southeast Raleigh, 51-6. Either the Comets or Rams will be crowned a league titlist October 27 at Clayton.
In the DAC-VII 4A Conference, Jordan and Hillside cruised to wins — Jordan 70-0 over Riverside, and Hillside 64-7 over East Chapel Hill. Hillside has won three straight games after starting 1-4. The Hornets will host Jordan for a conference championship on October 27.
Four in Northern Wake County
Heritage’s 23-21 win over Wake Forest — the Huskies’ first ever over the Cougars — left three Northern Wake 4A Conference teams with one loss behind undefeated Rolesville — a 67-0 winner over Knightdale. Rolesville, Heritage, Wake Forest, and Millbrook — which defeated Wakefield, 41-19 — legitimately can win the conference.
Only Rolesville controls its own destiny. Next Friday, the Rams will travel to Wake Forest, where Rolesville won in last fall’s state playoffs after the visiting Cougars took the teams’ regular season contest.
A Wake Forest win next Friday would likely render Rolesville, Heritage, Wake Forest, and Millbrook all seeking wins while needing help from each other, too, on October 27.
New Bern penalties explained
An internal review by Craven County Schools revealed several New Bern football players were ineligible this fall because of noncompliance with school district attendance requirements. The Bears forfeited their first five games this season in which the ineligible athletes participated. This penalty follows New Bern’s recent forfeiture of its 2022 N.C. 4A state championship.
Three things to keep in mind concerning ineligibility as it relates to the recent penalties:
▪ First, concerning attendance, students are required to meet school district attendance requirements, which may be more stringent than N.C. High School Athletic Association policies. The attendance matters in question here were relative to school district requirements.
▪ Second, dressing for a contest equates with “participation” in that contest. Whether a student ever entered the game is irrelevant. Being dressed for competition is a uniform statement that a student is eligible. Thus, ineligible participation requires forfeiture. A situation in which an ineligible student (even if listed on a team roster) does not dress for competition will not require forfeiture.
▪ Third, penalties applied to team records vary when a student’s participation may be individualized. The recent Craven County Schools discoveries included New Bern tennis, which had to forfeit any points earned (in singles and doubles) by an ineligible player. Forfeiting individual points — in sports like tennis, cross country, golf, swimming & diving, wresting, and track & field — may or may not impact team wins and losses.
