Mansfield to seek injunction
Officials at Taunton Superior Court confirmed for the Globe this morning that Mansfield officials will appear before Judge John P. Connor Jr. at 2 p.m. to seek an injunction against the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The Mansfield football program is making a last-minute effort to preserve its appearance in an Eastern Mass. Division 2 football semifinal tonight at Bridgewater-Raynham High School. The Hornets were scheduled to meet Bishop Feehan, but the MIAA declared the game a forfeit after Mansfield reported to the organization this week that it had used an ineligible fifth-year player during two regular-season games.
By MIAA rules, the Hornets must forfeit those two games and would no longer be champion of the Hockomock League. For more on this story, check out our previous entry on the saga.
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Look for updates from:
- Bob Holmes: A Reading resident (Go Rockets!) and Boston College graduate, Holmes is the Boston Globe High School Sports Editor. We remind you now that his weekly picks are often made in jest so everyone just calm down when he picks against Everett for 11 straight weeks.
- Mike Carraggi: An Everett native (Go Tide!), Mike attends Eastern Nazarene college and is entering his second year with the Globe. He'll focus on Division 1 this fall, which means he'll spend a lot of time in his hometown, which Forsberg thinks is cool because the Tide have that Fried Dough cart.
- Emily Wright: A Hyannis native (Go Barnstable Red Raiders!), Emily is a senior at Emerson College and has been with the Globe since the end of July. She'll cover Division 1A and will be the first intern we've trusted to navigate her way to Dennis-Yarmouth or any other school on the Cape.
- Mike Grossi: A Lexington native (Go Minutemen!), Mike attends Northeastern and has been with the Globe for two months. He'll cover Division 2 and 2A and unsuccessfully lobbied to include Lexington in the preseason Top 20.
- Jonathan Raymond: A native of Benicia, Calif. (a suburb of San Francisco), Jonathan attends Northeastern and has been working at the Globe since the end of June. He will be focusing on Division 3 and is likely woefully underprepared for covering a game in a foot of snow.
- David Carty: A native of West Bridgewater (Go Wildcats!), David is a senior at Emerson College and has been working at the Globe for a year. He'll cover Divisions 3A and 4 because, "small school ball is in my blood."
- The bench: You'll also catch updates from our regional contributors, including Globe North's Julian Benbow and South's Monique Walker. Correspondent Brendan Hall will have updates from the Globe West coverage area and will often try to sneak in Central Mass. news.
It seems terrible to have MHS forfeit. As usual, the adults have made a mistake that is going to cost student athletes the chance for a state title. Surely someone in MHS administration or the AD should have been aware that the player in question was a fifth year senior BEFORE Thanksgiving!!. Even if MHS wins in court and on the field, the MIAA will eventually strip them of whatever they win, given MIAA's past history in these matters, so the legal challenge seems pointless. Rules are rules, and MHS broke them. It is a shame the kids have to suffer the consequences for their adults lack of program control.
Letting Feehan go scot free into Gillette is wrong. North Attleboro played Feehan earlier this year, and they should be given the chance to play, even if on short notice. It's not like they would be totally unprepared for what Feehan runs. I am not from any of the towns in question, but is seems to me that Feehan should have to earn their way to Gillette, and will now have a huge advantage over the winner of the Walpole vs. Reading game-especially if the winner suffers any injuries from their game tonight. What about being fair to them??
How about having North Attleboro play Feehan tomorrow, and have Walpole play Reading tomorrow as well? That way, every D2 league winner gets a chance to play for the title, and has the same rest. The MIAA reschedules playoff games all the time due to weather, so I am sure it could be done here. That seems to be the most fair solution, especially to the Hockomock League, which has been essentially eliminated from Super Bowl contention by the MIAA.