On August 28, the Inglewood Sentinels (CA) football team traveled down to Texas for a showdown with Westlake (TX). The Sentinels went on to leave the Lone Star State with a 33-26 loss.
However, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times, had Inglewood won, the win would likely be vacated as the Sentinels played three ineligible players.
According to The Times, a letter sent to the CIF’s Southern Section office stated that Inglewood head coach Mil’Von James was "not aware CIF eligibility rules applied to a game in Texas".
For playing ineligible players, James served a two-game suspension. He returned last week for the school's 35-7 win over Downey (CA).
“Going forward, all ineligible players, across all sports, will be in street clothes on the sideline
and must check in with the game administrator prior to the start of each game," the school said in a released statement. "We will send all coaches, across all sports, a weekly email listing ineligible players and the reasons for their ineligibility. At the start of each season, we will re-train all coaches on eligibility criteria and the clearance process and require them to sign an acknowledgment confirming they understand.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that this is not the first time that James has used ineligible players.
He's been at Inglewood since 2019 but prior to that, he was the head coach at Hawkins High School in Los Angeles. In 2016, he was dismissed from that position as the Los Angeles Unified School District discovered he had been playing ineligible players throughout season.
That resulted in Hawkins having to forfeit all of its games that year and finishing the season 0-13.
With James back on the sideline, the Sentinels will turn their attention to the rest of the regular season. They're 5-1 on the year and return to the field on October 2 at home against Mira Costa (CA).
Follow Sports Reporter Joe Spears on X at @joe_spears7 or via email: JSpears@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow USA TODAY High School Sports on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California football coach gives head-scratching reason for playing ineligible players
