By Michael A. Lough

Central Georgia Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

The tone in Keith Hatcher’s voice last week was one of frustration.

Monday morning, it was relief and joy.

A little more than two weeks after initially being ruled ineligible and an ensuing appeal being denied, the final appeal for eligibility of Fernando Washington at ACE was approved Monday morning by the executive committee of the Georgia High School Association.

The committee voted 68-6 to allow Washington to play at ACE after moving to school in September following his departure from Mount de Sales.

Fernando Washington hugs ACE head coach Keith Hatcher and athletics director Josh McLendon after the Georgia High School Association reinstated Washington's eligibility Monday morning with the Gryphons.
Video: Michael A. Lough/The Central Georgia Sports Report

“I am … pleasantly surprised,” head coach Hatcher said in the hallway of the Marriott City Center, just outside of the meeting room. “But very appreciative of the people in the room that considered the circumstances.”

Hatcher, athletics director Josh McLendon, school attorney Rob Fortson (of Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford, and Martin in Atlanta), and Washington’s parent spoke during the closed-door hearing that lasted about 20 minutes.

“We had several people we felt needed to speak,” McLendon said. “Each person kind of had a different take on Fernando’s very unique situation. We knew it would take a few minutes to plead our case.”

Washington hugged Hatcher and McLendon after his eligibility was restored.

The initial ineligibility was based on a rule regarding a player transferring to a school where his/her coached had moved to, which in this case came after nine months.

Washington was allowed to withdraw without financial penalty from Mount de Sales during the Cavs’ off week, after wins over Strong Rock and Brentwood.

The family contacted Hatcher, who explored Washington attending ACE. He was on the practice field that Monday, a holiday.

ACE filed paperwork on the situation with the GHSA at the very start, before the Gryphons’ game that Friday with Jordan. The GHSA ruled him eligible, and Washington played in the 57-0 rout.

Days before ACE played Northeast the next week, the GHSA was reportedly contacted, re-addressed the situation, and then ruled Washington ineligible. The school appealed, and attended a hearing the following Tuesday, with the ruling remaining unchanged.

GHSA associate director Carror Wright, the director of compliance and investigations, declined comment on any aspect of the situation last week, from timelines to hypotheticals to clarifications to whether there was a situation.

“Per our office by-laws, we don’t comment on athletes or players,” Wright said.

The next step was a routine appeal to the GHSA’s executive committee, which had its regularly schedule fall meeting set for Monday months ago.

ACE disagreed with the initial ruling, noting that the time frame didn’t follow the normal following-a-coach time frame. But the ruling was technically sound, according to the slightly vague by-law.

As per GHSA bylaw 1.72 D and E:

(d) The player who played for a coach at one school (GHSA member or non-member) and subsequently followed that coach when he/she moved to a GHSA school or changed schools within the GHSA membership. (This is not applicable to dependent children of the coach.)

(e) The situations cited in this by-law are considered to be violations even if a bona fide move has occurred, and the hardship appeal procedures are available for the demonstration that undue influence has not occurred.

A key word in the first part is “subsequently”, which doesn’t offer a time-frame.

Hatcher was named as ACE’s head coach in early December. Washington remained enrolled at Mount de Sales, and went through spring practice and summer workouts, and remained enrolled at Mount de Sales, starting the school year there.

So the two didn’t re-connect for about eight months.

The executive committee was satisfied with the explanations of ACE and the family. And that led to hugs.

GHSA president Jim Finch, assistant superintendent of Monroe County Schools, couldn’t go into detail about the vote because it involved a student, but he could speak generally.

“The difference in this situation was, I think, it wasn’t a definite following of a coach, from A to B. We’ll probably clean up that by-law so people can understand better what it specifically means. Is there a definite time-frame?

“Everybody knew he played two games at Mount de Seals. The intent was not to follow Coach Hatcher.”

Washington has been at practice as an observer since the initial ruling, and Monday was a participant. The Gryphons host Central this week for homecoming.

Hardy not at Howard as reported

The recruiting media that hasn’t noticed nothing about this season on social media from Zavion Hardy still haven’t realized that the highly recruited prospect still doesn’t seem to have a school or a team.

Even if they’re reporting otherwise.

Website 247sports.com mentioned it recently in passing in a story checking in on USC’s recruiting: “Hardy recently moved to Howard from Tattnall Square Academy in Macon. He has some academic work to do.”

The story makes no mention of Hardy not having played a game this season, or having disassociated himself from Tattnall during his junior year, or of not being enrolled in school until recently.

That latter item puts Hardy behind in catching up academically to ensure eligibility, which is currently a question mark.

The South Carolina Rivals’ site GamecockScoop, in the same type story, reported that Hardy had “transferred to Howard High School in Macon, Ga., to finish out his high school career but do not believe he has played yet.”

Other sites still list him at Tattnall. He did tweet on Sept. 12 that “I will be back on the field in two weeks … time to prove all the doubters wrong (100).”

He responded Sunday night to a Twitter direct message from The Sports Report ent on Aug. 17 that he was “back at Howard.”

Howard head coach Paul Howard confirmed, yet again, on Monday that Hardy was not at Howard.

Milestone watch

Westside head coach Spoon Risper is a win away from his 100th as the head Seminole. Risper is 99-51, in his 14th season. And that puts him only two wins behind Robert Davis, who went 101-33 in 12 seasons.

He’s been on 99 since the Sept. 9 win over Rutland. The Seminoles had two weeks off, then lost 39-7 to Perry last week. They host West Laurens this week at Ed DeFore.

Next up chasing 100 wins: Hawkinsville’s Shane Williamson (96-121-2) and Mary Persons’ Brian Nelson (95-33).

Shaun Pope became the second-winningest coach – by wins – in Putnam County history with the War Eagles’ 4-0 win over Josey two Fridays ago, passing Ben Reaves (32-31-1 in six seasons from 2007-12) and Bobby Childs (32-32-1, 2001-06). Pope is up to 34-17.

There’s still a ways to go for No. 1: Al Reaves went 199-137-5 in two stints, 1964-80 and 1987-2000.

Dublin’s Roger Holmes is 17th on the state’s active list at 179-68-1, two behind Gilmer’s Paul Standard (182-80).

Dexter Copeland of Macon County is 24th (163-84), three behind Hebron Christian’s Jonathan Gess, formerly of ELCA and an ex-FPD assistant.

Peach County’s Chad Campbell (163-37) is next, one up on FPD’s Greg Moore (162-106) and Brentwood’s Bert Brown (162-109-4).

More GHSA business: Back to the Benz?

Executive director Robin Hines said at Monday’s meeting that negotiations are ongoing between the GHSA and Atlanta Falcons to return the state football finals to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

They have been held at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium since 2019. The finals were held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017 - a weekend interrupted by a huge snowstorm that led to six games being played at local high school stadiums, including Rome at Warner Robins in the Class 5A final – and 2018 in the middle of the week because of a scheduling conflict with the Atlanta United.

The cost of playing at Mercedes-Benz was so high, the GHSA dipped into funds to pay the teams involved a better payout.

“We had to add really a quarter of a million dollars that we really didn’t have to bolster those payments,” Hines said. “The Falcons have gotten better operationally with that, which you would expect.

“And there are some things that we can do. It’s very important for them that we get back in the Mercedes-Benz for our championships.”

The GHSA is requesting guarantees so it doesn’t have to supplement payouts again. The Falcons using most of the main advertising vehicles is part of it.

The tentative plan is to use only the lower bowl of about 27,000 seats, “which is plenty for us,” Hines said.

Not all of the parking decks would have to open. Hines said a huge expense is security and cleaning, and work is being done to lower those costs.

“I expect an announcement coming soon for the 2023 and 2024 championships,” he said. “They will be played instead of on the weekend – there are conflicts there – they will be played he next-week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.”

He said the girls flag football semifinals are tentatively set for the Falcons’ indoor facility in Flowery Branch.

The GHSA will continue to study moving golf form the spring to fall. Hines said a survey showed 52-48 percent to keep the sport in the spring, and an unofficial straw vote Monday basically backed that up.

Hines ran through the associations financials and said the GHSA remains in good shape, and should be able to again waive dues and send a check to schools for their catastrophic insurance premium.