Fork Union forfeits two games

FORK UNION — Fork Union Military Academy’s prep football program will have to forfeit its first two Prep League games of the season because of the participation of an ineligible player.
The Blue Devils will forfeit their wins over Norfolk Academy and Hargrave Military Academy.
“It was just an error,” said FUMA coach Micky Sullivan.
The unidentified student-athlete was allowed to play in those two games before members of the FUMA coaching staff recognized that he was five weeks too old to participate in undergraduate athletics. They immediately contacted the Executive Director of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Associated to report the oversight.
VISSA league eligibility rules state that student-athletes are only eligible for undergraduate play if they reach their 19th birthday after Aug. 1 of that academic year.
“This is a hard lesson for our school and our team,” said FUMA’s president, Lt. Gen. John E. Jackson, Jr. in a released statement. “But we are confident that modeling those virtues we endeavor to teach is of more value than a win-loss record.”
In both games, the athlete was not in the starting lineup and saw action in less than a dozen plays in the latter stages of the game. Fork Union won both contests by a margin of more than three touchdowns.
“It will be a test for us as a team and it will define the character of our team,” Sullivan said. “Character is shown when you have to face adversity, not when everything is going well.”
The Blue Devils, which had improved to 4-0 in the Prep League with a win (20-14) over St. Christopher’s this past Friday, are currently 2-2 after the forfeitures.
FUMA, which was ranked No. 5 in last week’s VISSA Division I poll, plays host to Liberty Christian on Friday at 3:30 p.m.