Holly Springs High School football team ineligible for playoffs, must forfeit games

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. (WTVD) -- A third seeded high school football team will not be allowed to play in the state playoffs.

Holly Springs High School, which finished the season 10-1, played its final two games with an ineligible player, according to the school.

The school said it self-reported the violation to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. According to NCHSAA policy, the team must forfeit those games and cannot participate in the state playoffs.

School principal Robert Morrison sent an email to school families discussing the violation.

"We regret the oversight and sincerely apologize to the students that are impacted. We will take steps to see that an oversight of this kind never occurs again," Morrison said in the email. "This is a disappointment for the fine student-athletes on our football team, as well as our entire school."

Holly Springs was going to have a bye in the first round of the state playoffs. They were then scheduled to play the winner of Garner Magnet and Wakefield. It's unclear how the NCHSAA will adjust the state playoffs, which begin this week.