A player on the Montclair High football team has been arrested by the Montclair Police Department on suspicion of submitting falsified documents to play, according to a statement emailed to The Times by the Chaffey Joint Union High School District.
According to a Sept. 9 letter obtained by The Times, sent by Montclair athletic director Bill Blades to the Southern Section, the football team will forfeit five wins from last season and one this season “due to having an ineligible player,” Blades wrote.
Montclair football finished with a record of 9-5 last season. It forfeits victories against City of Industry Workman, Hacienda Heights Wilson, Hemet West Valley, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Pomona.
The basketball team will also forfeit a Dec. 17 win against Rim of the World, per the letter. The identity of the player has not been released.
Montclair High administrators learned of allegations that a 19-year-old who had already finished high school was playing on the football team, according to Chaffey Joint Union Supt. Mathew Holton.
After reaching out to the player’s parents, the district contacted the Montclair Police Department, which began an investigation.
“Montclair Police determined that the individual misrepresented himself in the enrollment process for the purpose of playing football, and he was arrested for submitting falsified documents to the school,” Holton wrote.
Southern Section assistant commissioner Thom Simmons confirmed Wednesday that the section had been notified of the situation, and Montclair was investigating internally. The program has started this season with a 1-2 record, with a win Sept. 2 over Pomona.
“We will work with the California Interscholastic Federation to determine any possible implications to the program as a result of the ineligible player,” Holton wrote.
Since the allegations, more than one name has been removed from Montclair’s MaxPreps roster. Montclair Athletic Director Bill Blades and football coach Martin Bacon did not respond to requests for comment.
On Sept. 3, in response to a tweet about the allegations, Bacon tweeted, “First off this is the first I’m hearing this and to think that my self as a coach and Montclair as a program would do something like that is crazy. Second as a school we will get to the bottom of this cause that’s the right thing to do. That’s what I say.”
This is a developing story.
