East St. Louis (Ill.) is out of the Illinois state football playoffs again.
And
Belleville West (Ill.) is back in.
You might need a scorecard to keep up with an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) decision that has bounced between the state board room and a St. Clair County courtroom the last two weeks.
East St. Louis was ordered Oct. 25 by the IHSA to forfeit five of its nine regular-season wins this year and all 10 wins from 2009 due to Charles Tigue, a senior defensive lineman and an Eastern Illinois recruit, being ruled ineligible due to a violation of IHSA residency requirements. The five forfeitures removed East St. Louis from the Class 7A playoffs.
But East St. Louis school officials obtained a temporary restraining order from Judge Richard Aguirre of the St. Clair County 20th Judicial Court on Oct. 28, allowing the Flyers, a No. 1 seed, to play in last weekend‘s first round. East St. Louis defeated Belleville West, 41-10.
On Wednesday, the IHSA convinced Aguirre to absolve the restraining order, based on findings from an IHSA investigation. The result: East St. Louis must forfeit a total of 15 wins over two years and it is out of the playoffs. Belleville West will now play Belleville East in a 7A second-round game Saturday.
"This is an important ruling that reinforces our ability to govern our member schools," IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman said in a statement. "It is the obligation of each member school to abide by those rules and to be accountable for the repercussions that accompany failure to comply."
East St. Louis school officials still may appeal Aguirre's latest decision.
