I'm sorry, but this is getting comical. From the Island Packet article:
Quote: Hazel said the Bobcats will be eligible for the top seed despite having no chance of being called the region champions, but the Region 8-AAA athletics directors -- who have the final vote -- could elect to not award them a top seed. They could also vote to keep them out of the playoffs completely, ...
As I understand Roger Hazel's comments in the newspaper, the league's (SCHSL) hands are tied and they cannot bar Bluffton from the playoffs, but the region (a subgroup formed and controlled by the league) can. I am not certain what is more troublesome, the lack of control or leadership by the league or the thought that the region ADs have the authority to subjectively remove a team from the playoffs. If the league itself is limited by its Constitution on the penalty (see Coach Chass' quotation of the relevant portions of the Constitution above), then it would seem that the entities formed by and under the league (the regions) would have no more authority.
On the other hand, there does not appear to be anything prohibiting a team or school from participating in a post-season tournament.
I don't think that Bluffton or the actions of any past or present players are the issue anymore. The league needs to get its affairs in order.
Lastly (because I have far too many posts on this topic), the sequence of events reported in the Island Packet seem off. According to the Bluffton Today preview of the Bluffton High soccer team on March 11, Coach Cook knew that they might be allowed to participate in the playoffs.
