League Rules Forfeit: Maulers Advance to Play-offs
July 5, 2006 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Montgomery Bears News Release
(MONTGOMERY, AL) It was announced earlier today via a conference call that the Montgomery Maulers perceived 39-28 loss, this past weekend in Charleston versus the SandSharks, has been ruled a forfeit in Maulers favor by the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and that Montgomery will advance to the 2006 NIFL Play-offs. The Maulers will be represented as the sixth/final seed of the Atlantic Conference (AC).
The Maulers (7-7) trailed the SandSharks by a half game heading into Saturday's contest at the North Charleston Coliseum in South Carolina, heightening the importance surrounding the night's match-up. The outcome of the game would decide which team would occupy the final play-off spot of the AC and which team would end their season and look to re-group in 2007. The Maulers had defeated the SandSharks, 42-30, earlier in the season, at the Garret Coliseum in Montgomery.
Despite the scoreboard recognizing the SandSharks as the winners of Saturday's game, the Maulers later learned that they were at a slight disadvantage Saturday night.
Before the Mauler/SandShark contest Saturday night, Charleston's General Manager, Al Bannister, publicized that the SandSharks franchise would not be participating in the play-offs even if they prevailed victorious in the night's game, and instead will look to rebuild for the 2007 season.
Both the Maulers organization and the NIFL found it bizarre that a team would pass up a play-off opportunity. On Sunday, however, perhaps the real reason behind Bannister's remarks was revealed, when the League confirmed that Charleston's roster Saturday night included at least six ineligible players. The use of ineligible players is a NIFL rule infraction that immediately disqualifies a team's eligibility for play-offs.
The uncovering of Charleston's perceived use of ineligible players began prior to Saturday's game, when Mauler Head Coach Michael Mink, notified the NIFL questioning some of the players that were listed on the SandSharks 25-man roster.
"I was looking over their roster and I didn't recognize a lot of the names. I went through some of Charleston's past player participation reports and saw that many of the guys weren't listed...And the roster they submitted when they played us in Montgomery [on June 12], was a completely different team," said Mink. "I kept thinking, where did these guys come from and thought it was worth checking on."
Mink's research paid off. The Maulers were notified via email by a League official on Sunday night that at least six of Charleston players were in fact ineligible for Saturday's contest. It is required by the NIFL, that each team must submit a 30-man frozen roster in the opening weeks of June, and specifies that only the players listed on the roster are eligible to participate in the final games of the regular season and in play-off competition.
In addition to Charleston using illegal players, the NIFL website acknowledges that Charleston also failed to carry out some operational requirements (submission of individual and team statistics); fulfilling these requirements, is mandatory by the League in order to be considered eligible for play-offs.
Maulers General Manager John Morris praised the league for their promptness and efficiency. "[NIFL President] Carolyn Shiver and the rest of the league really handled this professionally and quickly. Our guys were at a complete disadvantage Saturday night. [ Charleston] had essentially loaded up for that game...we had no game film on these guys and saw honestly saw a team that prior to that game, never existed," said Morris.
It has not be disclosed where the new players came from that filled out Charleston's roster, but Morris said he is pleased that the league responded the way they did and thrilled that Montgomery gets what he deems a well deserved shot in the play-offs.
"Our guys deserve to make the play-offs. We started the season at 1-5 and were able to turn it around...Now we're heading into play-offs at 7-7. I'm proud of the guys and their class they played with this past weekend. It was definitely frustrating to be playing at a disadvantage, but they hung in there and now they are getting what they deserve, the opportunity to advance," said Morris.
Charleston finished their inaugural season at 7-7.
The Maulers will travel to the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, FL this Saturday to take on the Atlantic Conference number three seed, the Lakeland Thunderbolts (12-1). Kick-off for Saturday's game is set for 7:00 PM.
National Indoor Football League Stories from July 5, 2006
- Copperheads Ready for Drillers in Playoffs - Texas Copperheads
- Rage Pracitce Open to Public - RiverCity Rage
- League Rules Forfeit: Maulers Advance to Play-offs - Montgomery Bears
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
