Goose Creek Gators Playoff Disqualification Timeline

In advance of Monday's SCHSL hearing, here's a rundown of the disqualification timeline. Follow the latest here.

The student, who has been labeled John Doe to protect his privacy, was allowed to play this season based on an online transcript database that schools use to verify eligibility.

Coach Chuck Reedy has said publicly that the student came from a troubled background and is in a non-diploma special needs program at the school. He played in five games for 17 plays, each time when the Gators were ahead by more than 40 points.

It wasn't until Principal Jimmy Huskey was reviewing winter sports forms on Nov. 12 that he learned the file had been updated to include a ninth grade year at Woodmont High School for the student, seeming to make the student ineligible.

Huskey, a member of the SCHSL executive committee, quickly notified the league staff of the issue and sought a hardship request for a fifth year of eligibility for the student, setting the stage for the disqualification last week.

As the school prepared for the court challenge Friday morning, administrators learned that the student didn't actually take classes at Woodmont. The school was named on his permanent transcript, but he studied at a children's home in Simpsonville for troubled kids.

In his decision on Friday, Judge Roger Young ruled the Gators would be allowed to play last week, and for the SCHSL to reconvene to consider the school's appeal. He specifically noted the committee must consider Monday that the student was incapable of participating in the Woodmont High sports program and whether or not that impacts his eligibility.

The Gators played Friday night, defeating Bluffton, 35-25. But it will be a court that decides which team plays in the division semi-finals.