It’s the harshest word in youth football; expelled. That was the sentence given to head coach Art Edmond and his Northeast Rebels 105 (10 & Under) team this past week after finding at least three illegal players on his roster. What complicates and amplifies matters even more is that Edmond, better known as ‘Dred’ was the winner of the past two super bowls on his age division in South Florida’s American Youth Football League. Those super bowls titles for Pee Wee (2010) and 90-pound (2011) now belong to the Pembroke Pines Bengals Optimist program they beat in both Super Bowls.
A high ranking official inside the Bengal’s program said ‘We don’t want the Super Bowl [titles].”
However, coaches on the park have publicly displayed their unhappiness with the fact that their kids will not be able to enjoy championships they should have won.
For Northeast, a source tells Football Hotbed that the team mood is somber and that there is disappointment among the kids that did not cheat. All told, by AYFL by laws the Northeast team vacates all of their wins over the past three seasons and currently has a 0-9 record even though they only lost one game on the field this season to the Miramar Wolverines.
This news all comes on the heels of the Rebels thrilling 13-12 win over the same PPO team, now at 105 pound, just last Saturday. It’s a team whose number the Rebels appeared to have, and for good reason. Their numbers, most notably No. 3 and No. 9 are too old. The AYFL cut off for ages for the 105-pound division is August 31st. So no player is eligible to turn 11 until September 1st. The Rebels reportedly had at least one player who is turning 13.
A source tells Football Hotbed that the oldest illegal player also competed on a National Championship track team with an altered birth certificate. And additionally, a female player also played on this same team and participated this past track and field season with the 12 year old age group, even though the 105 pound is a 10-year-old weight class.
This news is just the latest string of illegal players in the AYFL, which is now seemingly becoming an epidemic. The league known for its decorum and organization has now been hit from all sides with cheating and particularly with illegal participants on weight classes due to age. The largest issue it causes is a shift in each division and playoff realignments.
Instances just this year alone have occurred at the Davie Broncos and Cooper City programs. There was also concern about a player on Cooper City’s 140 pound team (9-0). An item about whether or not they had an illegal player was placed on this past Wednesday’s agenda for the weekly league board meeting. No wrong doing was found. However, the illegal player issue is surely a problem this league must address as soon as possible to keep its integrity. Especially since surrounding youth football leagues appear to be pouring players into the AYFL on an annual basis.
For Edmond and the Rebels, both he and the illegal athletes will serve three year suspensions from the AYFL effectively ending their tenure in the league. Once the darlings of the beleaguered Rebels program that was historically pedestrian over the past decade, this 10 & under team is now the outcast of the entire organization having their roots in the South Florida Youth Football League at the Lauderhill Broncos. There will likely be league fines and disappointment from parents and kids who played by the rules but were unfairly punished.
In the 105 pound division, it seems likely that now PPO and Miramar will battle it out for the top spot and are expected to play each other in the Super Bowl. But an unfortunate act by adults has ruined what is supposed to be a great experience for youth athletes. This age grouping, the current AYFL 105s and Northeast will never be the same.
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