Five-game forfeit doesn't keep Mahtomedi from playing like a ch...

the kicker moved from here from brazil and he can't participate in sports for a year?! the rule is in place so kids don't bounce around schools locally. kids move in from out of the state/country and play sports immediately all the time, don't they? somebody screwed up here, ignore it and make it right. someone needs to get off their arrogant high horse and use common sense when making a decision.

That rules been in place for at least 30 years though Don, it stopped me from being able to play for a year for Stillwater even when I lived in Stillwater, just because I moved from the St. Paul Johnson area. One thing that should be said though is that the Mahtomedi program has been doing this for years and they finally got caught at it. The story says that the director of athletics reported it himself, but the real story is that he got wind that the other schools were investigating and he had to do a bit of CYA spin doctoring.

GO ZEPHS!

'Pencils Down Class', you have no idea what you are talking about. Can you please name a star player on ANY SPORT in the past 30 years from Mahtomedi who was a transfer? The AD realized his mistake after a casual conversation on the subject of the exchange program. This was a paperwork mistake, nothing more. If the AD had noticed it before the season, the Aunt of the player in question could have signed a simple Legal Guardian document which would have made the kid ELIGIBLE to play this year. Why don't you take your crazy conspiracy theories somewhere else?

It is nice to see an AD take responsibility for his actions. However, the real victim in this is the team the Zephyrs have to play in the fisrt round of playoffs. As a 7-8 seed they will be playing a team they wouldn't normally play until later in the round. Thus ending another good team's season early.

Pencils- where do you get your facts?
Its not like the football coaches went to Brazil to recurit this kid to play football. If he were lighting up the stats on the soccer field one might question. But really, the kicker on the football team? I am not doubting his importance on the field. I am just saying I doubt the kid moved here to play football for the Zephs instead of getting a better education. I also doubt Muetzel/Whistler thought to themselves "Hey we really need a kicker..lets try Brazil1"

The state high school league got it wrong here by making an example of Mahtomedi. There could have been a memo that went out and said know this is WHAT NOT TO DO. It is the first full year of this new rule. Mistakes are bound to be made. But again we see adult mistakes that punish a hundred kids. Can someone answer me what has been gained by all of this? All I can see are a bunch of losses. 1. The kid can't play. 2. An AD who has served his community as an educator for 20 years has been bashed for making a mistake. 3. Other teams in the confernece have now moved up in the standings over something they have not earned and have officially fired up the whole community to support this team.
I grew up in Mahtomedi. Played on state championship teams in other sports. First of all sports are not taken all that seriously in Mahtomedi. When I was there my coaches cared much more about us as people than as athletes. We won over 95% of my games in 4 years. I had Metzuel as a teacher and he is 100% class act. By far my favorite math teacher there. The Zephs are very lucky to have him.
If you spent time in the community you would know they are much prouder of their strong academic curriculum and worry way more about that then sports. They have built the football program the right way along with girls soccer, gymnastics, ect. Good parent volunteers in the youth program that work with the high school coaches.

It is a shame that the team has to have the wins taken away from them because of an ineligible player. But rules is rules. We transferred my daughter in her junior year to a public school because we could not longer afford the tuition at her private school. She did not like it and finances turned around so we transferred her back after 1 quarter. Result, a one year suspension of varsity eligibility, even though she did not play softball at the public school or even try out. It did not matter, there was no appeal process and the decision stood. Sorry, but if the paperwork got missed and the kicker is ineligible then the correct decision was made. Based on the article, it sounds like the AD should be held up as an example of doing the right thing in a tough situation. The players have a challenge in front of them so good luck to them in the coming tournament.

Mahtomedi can be considered a 1st in Minnesota football history to win state with one of the worst records! Does it really matter? The team is good no matter what their record shows!

Blair - you raise an interesting point. Hill-Murray and #1 Seed Johnson will have their seasons ended prematurely. Simply because of an administrative error that was not intended to create a competitive advantage - which is the spirit of the new rule that has not been in place for 30 years Pencils Down.

So not only are the Zephry players stripped of their relatively insignificant wins and Conference Crown, but Hill and likley Johnson senors will have their seasons ended early. Not sure how I see this benefitting anyone but the Draconian MSHSL.

We still love you Brazil!
Hill- See you on Tuesday!

On Balance, its unfortunate that your daughter lost a year of eligibility, but how can you not at least acknowledge the significant difference in this case? The spirit of the rule is to prevent kids from jumping from one local school to another local school for athletic reasons. This kid is from Brazil! Its not like Mahtomedi High school has a football recruiting office in Rio. Its insane that the MSHSL doesn't exercise ANY common sense when it comes to unique cases such as this one. One would hope that this case would at least get them to re-evaluate their currnet rules to allow for exceptions in rare situations such as this.

Maybe the AD should quit or be fired.

If it was his error, a pretty big one at that.

Show these kids how responsibility works!