Watch the Chiles lacrosse team score big third-quarter goals, Logan Short's highlight reel goal, interviews, and photos from a historic district win

The Timberwolves were told by the FHSAA they used an academically ineligible player during an 11-7 district championship win over Maclay





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“I was devastated, more for the kids than anyone else," Anders said. “It’s not about history, or a trophy, or a win, it’s about the amount of work, dedication they’ve put into this team to become a family and, for the seniors, this program. It was a big heart-breaker.”

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As explained to the Democrat by the FHSAA, the simplest explanation why the runner-up doesn't advance to the playoffs in another's forfeited absence revolves around several hypotheticals from other teams, such as Leon perhaps claiming it would have beaten Chiles in the district semifinals if the ineligible player had not played.


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Chiles had to forfeit its last five games, dropping its season record officially to 10-7 instead of 14-3. A loss to Gainesville Buchholz will be recorded as a forfeit, prior to the Timberwolves winning their last four games. That means Chiles forfeited two wins over Leon, one over Pensacola Catholic, and one over Maclay.

The FHSAA was alerted by someone unknown to Chiles to look into a player’s academic standing. Players are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. The player in question had started the semester academically ineligible, got in good standing, was cleared by the athletic department, and began playing.

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Chiles is still confused by the ruling because one bylaw states a player can return during the season, so they worked to get the player eligible. But another bylaw states a player cannot play after a certain date during a semester even if they do meet the requirements.

Said Anders: “When we were going through the rules in the first place to make sure he was cleared, we thought everything was OK, and now it seems contradictory. Granted, the kid put himself in a bad situation with his GPA, but he worked his tail off to get back. We got him cleared, and it was go time.”

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Said Timberwolves athletic director Mike Eto said: “It’s unfortunate. It’s a policy that I was not 100 percent aware of.”

Chiles only hopes to turn this disappointing end into fuel for its upcoming offseason workouts and games.

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“We feel like we had something ripped away from us that we really did earn,” Anders said. “It wasn’t trying to cheat or be shady against the rules. We did everything to get a player eligible and overlooked one rule.

“We’re taking it day by day and using it as a pushing tool for the upcoming team next year.”

Editor's Note: Chiles later issued this statement: