Mansfield to contest forfeit

Ineligible player cause of dispute

Update (12:36 p.m.): The Globe talked with Bishop Feehan athletic director Paul O'Boy and he suggested that, regardless of the outcome of Mansfield's injunction hearing this afternoon at Taunton Superior Court, it's unlikely a game could be played tonight. "I don't know how we could play a game today,'' said O'Boy. According to O'Boy, after speaking with Bridgewater-Raynham athletic director Dan Buron, police detail and workers set to staff the Feehan-Mansfield matchup were called off (the game was originally slated for 5:15 p.m., while a 7:45 p.m. game between Abington and Norton will still be played at the site).

Update (11:02 a.m.): Officials at the Taunton Superior Court confirmed to the Globe this morning that Mansfield officials will appear before Judge John Connor at 2 p.m. to seek an injunction against the MIAA in the hopes of playing their Div. 2 football playoff game tonight.

Today's Division 2 high school football playoff game between Mansfield and Bishop Feehan was declared a forfeit by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association yesterday after it learned that Mansfield used an ineligible player in two of its wins.

However, Mansfield coach Mike Redding said last night that the school's legal counsel will file an injunction against the MIAA's ruling this morning and that the team is hoping to play against Feehan at Bridgewater-Raynham High School this afternoon as planned.

According to a statement issued by the MIAA, Mansfield administrators discovered that the team had used a fifth-year student in wins over Sharon Oct. 10 and over Oliver Ames Oct. 17.

But Redding said the school administration was not certain that a violation had occurred, since the student played only three downs at the conclusion of the Sharon game and four at the conclusion against Oliver Ames.

"It seems like the decision has been rushed," Redding said. "I would have hoped that much more discretion would have been made with an important decision like this that affects so many student-athletes."

Redding did not know in which court the injunction would be filed, and said the athletic program was unaware the player was in his fifth year.

The MIAA said it considered substituting an opponent for Bishop Feehan but decided against it for several reasons. It cited concerns for the health of a team that had not practiced in four to six days, concerns that the team would not have an opportunity to practice and prepare for the game, and that postponing the game a day would affect the winning team's ability to prepare for the Super Bowl.

So Bishop Feehan, the defending Division 2 Super Bowl champion, advances directly to Saturday's Super Bowl.

"The decision was made by representatives of the board of directors and the football committee late this afternoon after an investigation into the facts of the situation and a presentation by senior staff officials," said the MIAA. "Under MIAA rules, those games had to be forfeited, dropping Mansfield's record in the league to 6-2, which was no longer the best in the league."