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The path to a regional title in Division III, Region 9, just became a little easier.
On Thursday, the OHSAA removed Northeast Ohio powerhouse Glenville from the state’s football tournament.
The OHSAA issued a press release, which stated that the state's high school sports governing body was investigating the Tarblooders for playing ineligible players.
In the press release, the OHSAA said the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, which oversees Glenville, allowed students from Ginn Academy to compete on the team.
"The issues stem from students who attend Ginn Academy, which is a non-member magnet school that does not offer sports and is under the control of Cleveland Metropolitan School District," the press release stated. "Students who attend Ginn Academy can only participate in athletics at the Cleveland Metro school that is closest to their residence."
In October of 2018, Glenville was also removed from the football playoffs for the same infractions, along with being fined $5,000 and placed on probation through 2021.
"Recently we discovered several irregularities with students going to Ginn Academy and playing football at Glenville, which led us to conduct an audit of the participation opportunities for all fall sports student-athletes at Glenville High School," OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said in the press release. "This week we confirmed that many players on Glenville's football team should have been playing at other schools this season. It will take some time to examine all the information and determine the extent of the violations this season and potentially in previous seasons for all schools and teams within Cleveland Metro."
The press release also stated that there is not an exact timetable on the full scope of the investigation and additional penalties.
Glenville was the fifth seed in the region and was set to play 12th-seeded University School in the first round of the playoffs today.
However, with the Tarblooders pulled from the bracket, University School will advance to the regional quarterfinals. University School will have to travel down to Columbiana County to face Salem in the next round.
The fourth-seed Quakers earned one of the top four seeds in the region, and as a result, were granted a bye in the first round.
In addition to Salem, Howland and Ursuline will also represent the Mahoning Valley in Region 9.
The Fighting Irish will host Mentor Lake Catholic today at Rayen Stadium in Youngstown. Howland will also have a home game as Hawken visits Trumbull County.