Wayne Hills Football Team Disqualified From State Tournament

WAYNE, N.J. — The No. 1-seed Wayne Hills High School football team has been disqualified from the upcoming state tournament because it fielded three ineligible players all season, state officials announced Tuesday.

Superintendent Mark Toback was informed that a few players were possibly ineligible and officials investigated, officials said in a news release.

District officials reviewed the situation and reported the the NJSIAA, the state agency that oversees high school athletics, that the three students, who were not named by the state or the district, did not file a bona fide change of address form.

Per state rules, the first-seeded Patriots will also have to forfeit all eight of their wins.

"I understand and greatly appreciate the hard work that our boys put into the season," Superintendent Mark Toback said in a statement. "I share the heartbreak this will cause our students, families, and the Wayne Hills community."

NJSIAA applauded district officials for taking responsibility for what happened.

“This is an unfortunate situation, of course, and the administration of Wayne Township Public Schools is to be commended for immediately meeting its responsibility under the rules of our association,” said Steve Timko, executive director of the NJSIAA. “Self-reporting is truly the bedrock of the NJSIAA and I applaud Wayne for the commitment to the true spirit of scholastic athletics. I’m proud of them.”

The group tournament has been re-seeded. Irvington is now the No. 1 seed and the Wayne Valley is the new No. 2 seed. The crosstown Indians will host seventh-seeded Roxbury.

No other tournament brackets were impacted by the disqualification.

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