Bluffton boys soccer team banned from postseason play
http://www.islandpacket.com/sports/local/story/566174.htmlSam McDowell, The Island Packet
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An ugly ending to the Bluffton High School soccer team's season in May will cost next year's squad a chance to compete for a state championship.
On Friday, the South Carolina High School League executive committee upheld commissioner Jerome Singleton's ruling to ban the Bluffton boys from postseason play in 2009 because of an incident that took place in a season-ending playoff loss on May 6.
With the Bobcats trailing 4-2 to Airport High School in that contest, Bluffton's J.P. Sandoval received a red card with time winding down on the Bobcats' season. His teammate, Erick Velez, responded by shoving the center referee, effectively ending the game.
Bluffton athletics director Dave Adams received news Monday that the team would be banned from participating in postseason play, a decision he immediately appealed to the executive committee.
Adams argued that the school's punishment -- which included a suspension for Velez -- was strict enough, and therefore no additional penalties were necessary.
The executive committee disagreed, denying the appeal on Friday.
"We have more problems in soccer than any other sport," Ted Greene told the (Columbia) State on Friday. Greene, the principal at Mullins High School, is an executive committee member. "We have got to send a strong message."
Adams said Velez is no longer at Bluffton High School, and that he won't be a part of the Bobcats soccer team next season. But that didn't affect the committee's ruling Friday.
"It's unfair to hold the rest of the team responsible," Adams said. "But it's a life lesson. If you are part of a team, you have to pay the consequences of the team. ... I just hate it for the seniors."
Bluffton still will play its full slate of regular season games next spring. And it will be allowed a chance to win the Region 7-AAA championship, a title claimed by Hilton Head Island High School last season.
