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Court case shows love for football

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By KEITH MORELLI

kmorelli@tampatrib.com

Published: November 8, 2009

LAKELAND - From Lakeland to Davenport and Auburndale to Frostproof, Polk County is linked by more than just Interstate 4 and U.S. 27.

The connections that bind happen each fall when the young men of each community battle on the gridiron.

Welcome to high school football, Polk County style.

It's all a bit unusual for a county with a population half the size of Hillsborough County and about a third fewer teens, according to U.S. census figures.

The warfare waged among the high schools in Polk County has always been top notch, but last week, the need to win was played out not on the field, but Wednesday in a courtroom.

Until Wednesday, Lakeland's Kathleen High Red Devils were en route to a spectacular season, winning all eight of their games and poised to enter the playoffs.

But there was a problem. In the days following a Sept. 25, 21-0 trouncing by Kathleen, football coaches and a guidance counselor at rival Bartow High found, through questionable means, some say, that one of the Red Devils was academically ineligible to play.

The would-be whistleblowers waited two weeks - two more wins by Kathleen with the ineligible player - before notifying the district, which notified Kathleen officials.

After Kathleen reported itself to the Florida High School Athletic Association, all of its games up to that point - six - were forfeited, scrubbing them from playoff contention.

A lawsuit ensued, filed by a group of Kathleen football parents who said, sure, the player was ineligible, but if Bartow had reported the discovery right away, the last two forfeited games could have been played without the player and likely won, keeping the Red Devils' playoff hopes alive.

But Circuit Judge Roger Alcott, however, threw out the complaint to reinstate the forfeited games, saying he did not think the state acted improperly.

The taking of the fight off the field and into the court shows how much winning means to this county's teams and fans.

Edward J. Rielly, author of "Football: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture," said high school football is important to more than just the players.

"There is no doubt but that high school football continues to be taken very seriously by not only players and coaches but (often more troublingly) by parents and fans," he said in an e-mail last week.

"On both sides of this case," he said, "we seem to see this super competitiveness."

Polk County football fans have gotten used to a winning tradition.

"Athletics, in general, is big across entire state of Florida," said Kathleen Principal Cecil McClellan. "Of course, the No. 1 priority here always is academics. That is in the forefront of everything you do. That's why you exist."

Football is huge in Polk for a few reasons, he said. The rural character of the county makes football an appealing form of entertainment. There are generations who live in Polk who have gone to high schools in their towns and who have children going to the same schools.

Generations play the same sports.

"You have a lot of close-knit communities here," McClellan said. "That just enhances the programs. We've got several generations of families here. The first football team (at Kathleen) was formed in 1942."

Alumni stay connected

The principal said he keeps in touch with some alumni, including one man who graduated in 1950 who still listens to football games on the radio when he can't attend.

Some games, including rivalries with cross-town teams Lake Gibson High and Lakeland High, draw as many as 8,000 fans, McClellan said. "They are all good rivalries."

By good, he means, "We play hard and end up shaking hands."

Kathleen, with a student enrollment of 1,800, has a disproportionate number of athletes who go on to play in Division I colleges and even at the professional level. Ray Lewis, the All-Pro linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens, may be the most recognizable name.

Desmond Clark, a tight end with the Chicago Bears, even sponsors a mentoring program at Kathleen for ninth-graders, McClellan said.

"We've had many go on," he said.

Through it all, he said, education comes first. He said there are some "tremendous athletes here who do not qualify to play" because of grades.

He said Kathleen graduates have placed first in the number of athletic and academic scholarships in the district over the past seven years.

'We take it seriously'

Masha Paul is president of the Kathleen High Touchdown Club, a group of football-player parents. It was the Touchdown Club that brought the suit to reinstate the forfeited games. Paul vowed to continue the fight against the forfeitures, even though there are only two games left in the season.

His son, Gionni, is a junior and plays linebacker.

"Football in Polk County," Paul said, "is definitely big."

Parents are involved as much as the athletes, he said. "We take it seriously. It bonds our community."

Paul said the way Bartow handled the matter was wrong and may have ruined chances for some seniors to be recruited by colleges.

"The playoffs are when the scouts come down to view the kids," he said. "If a team isn't in the playoffs, the seniors don't get seen."

That was one of the claims of the court complaint, said Joseph Brown of Lakeland, who represents the Touchdown Club.

The actions of Bartow High, in delaying the reporting of their discovery, would "adversely affect the economic rights of the students on the Kathleen High School football team" in the way of scholarships, donations and sponsorships, Brown said.

"This possibly was the best Kathleen High School football squad ever fielded," he said.

The Polk school district is investigating whether Bartow coach Shawn Killets, athletic director Glenn Rutenbar and an unnamed guidance counselor inappropriately accessed the grades of the student at Kathleen. The results of that probe aren't expected for another week or two, officials said.

Bartow officials said they would not comment on the matter until the investigation is complete.

FHSAA Executive Director Roger Dearing recognizes the importance of football to a tight-knit community like Polk. He traveled from Gainesville this week to attend the court hearing.

He said the sad part of the Kathleen scandal is that the team's win-loss record was taken out of the players' hands and into the hands of adults.

That a rival school blew the whistle on Kathleen's ineligible player was not the issue, he said.

"Fifty percent of the time, an ineligible player is found out by another school," he said.

Still, the season is lost for the Red Devils and that's not a memory that will fade soon for students, players, teachers, fans and parents.

"This is heartbreaking for this school. Players and students will remember this at their 10-year and 20-year reunions," he said.

Football in Polk is fierce, he said, and it will go on. Polk County is a small, rural part of the state, he said. "But the competition here is getting larger and larger."

The football teams grapple with each other often, he said. "They all are rivalries. There is a certain pride among the high schools here. It is very intense. While winning is important, losing offers life's lessons."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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