El Cerrito’s football team has been disqualified from postseason play.
Hours after the Bay Area News Group reported on Monday night that El Cerrito expected to be banned from the North Coast Section playoffs that are scheduled to start next week, section commissioner Pat Cruickshank made the news official.
In an email on Tuesday, Cruickshank said the football program is ineligible for the playoffs this season and the school has been placed on probation for two years.
El Cerrito violated multiple bylaws related to transfers, including undue influence, pre-enrollment contact and school personnel involvement, Cruickshank noted.
“The CIF North Coast Section emphasizes the importance of integrity and adherence to the rules by all student-athletes, and member schools,” the commissioner’s email said.
Cruickshank’s confirmation followed a report late Monday night from this news organization, which obtained a letter from the West Contra Costa Unified School District addressed to El Cerrito football families.
The letter described the upcoming ban as a “best-case scenario” and noted that the investigation was ongoing.
Last month, El Cerrito forfeited five victories because it used ineligible players in its first six games. That news came weeks after this news organization reported that coach Jacob Rincon was placed on administrative leave.
But even with a sub-.500 overall record as a result of the vacated wins, the team was still expected to make the playoffs in the section’s top division as the No. 6 seed, one that will include the likes of De La Salle, Pittsburg and San Ramon Valley.
Now, El Cerrito’s season will end Friday night at home against De Anza.
The decision to ban El Cerrito from the postseason will have a ripple effect in the section’s new competitive-based playoffs.
The top seed in Division II will now be moved to the upper division to fill out the eight-team bracket, which means that instead of a possible deep playoff run in D-II, that team will now be a massive underdog at De La Salle.
Similar movements will unfold in the other divisions to fill out the brackets.
As it stands, Liberty appears to be the Division II team that will be bumped up to play De La Salle. But the Brentwood school’s computer ranking could change if the Lions lose to rival Heritage on Friday.
Tim Johnson, El Cerrito’s acting head coach, said his team was stunned by the latest development.
“Our student athletes use football as a source where dreams and goals are reached,” Johnson told the Bay Area News Group in a text Monday night. “Without football, we’re putting these players in a mental state that could effectively cause more harm than good, and could have long lasting impressions on their lives. … We’re letting adults dictate the lives of our players that most of them have no relationship with them, which I feel is unjust.”
Johnson added that his seniors were playing for school history. The Gauchos were seeking their third consecutive NCS championship, all in different divisions.
“Now they’ve been robbed of the opportunity to compete, which is disheartening,” Johnson said.
The letter to El Cerrito football families underscored that the district “initiated a self-reporting process” to NCS and has cooperated fully with the section.
