Archbishop Murphy football will forfeit four games, turning three wins into losses, after investigations by the Wesco Conference and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) found that a player was ineligible. The WIAA confirmed the outcome to The Herald on Friday. Its Executive Board also placed the school's athletic department on probation for one year.
The Wildcats now stand at 5-4 overall and 4-4 in league play. Representatives from the Northwest Conference confirmed the team stays eligible for the postseason and will advance as one of District 1's five Class 2A state tournament entries.
In a statement, the WIAA said its Executive Board met October 29 for an appeal hearing on the school's case and voted to uphold the forfeitures for use of an ineligible participant. The board concluded that the involvement of an individual from a 7v7 football program in a student's transfer was enough to apply WIAA Handbook 18.12.5. That rule makes a transfer student eligible for sub-varsity play only if the student took part in a non-school team with coaches tied to the new school, or received personal athletic training from someone affiliated with it.
The player transferred to Archbishop Murphy from Woodinville during the offseason. The original concerns alleged that members of the Wildcats coaching staff encouraged players to enroll and join the football program while involved with a 7-on-7 team called "Wipe Me Down Boyz." The 7-on-7 format is a non-contact, passing-focused offseason version of football popular with youth and high school players. Both the player's and the coaching staff's involvement with that team was judged enough to trigger the rule.
According to minutes from the board meeting, the allegations initially involved two students who were in seventh and eighth grade in May 2025. Athletic director Jeff Latta said it is extremely challenging to track every comment made to students by coaches and affiliated people, and to follow every incoming ninth grader. He said the coach in question is the brother of a player who gained eligibility after the allegation was filed, and that the coach was there to support his brother with no role in the non-school program. Latta also said the school has no control over that program, argued the handbook rule should be changed to remove confusion, and asked to take any penalty himself rather than have the football program punished. Legal counsel for the school said it would seek a permanent injunction and ask judges to review the rule, which she called arbitrary and capricious.
The forfeitures cover the four games in which the player appeared, including wins over Bellingham, Sehome and Burlington-Edison. A loss to Anacortes in that stretch stands. Games against Sultan and Lakewood on Oct. 16 and 23 were removed from the schedule after those teams opted out, which Northwest Conference rules allow the bottom two teams to do against the top two. The conference said those opt-outs count as wins for Archbishop Murphy.
The decision followed a 35-14 Wildcats victory over Lynden on Thursday. Archbishop Murphy joins Lynden, Anacortes, Burlington-Edison and Squalicum as the five Northwest Conference 2A teams heading to state. Under WIAA Handbook 28.5.3, a school on probation may still take part in interscholastic activities unless a league, district or the Executive Board says otherwise. The athletic director must also complete additional WIAA-approved compliance training before the school year ends, and the probation runs through October 29, 2027.
Archbishop Murphy said it is deeply disappointed and will continue to appeal. "Our responsibility has always been, and will continue to be, to put students first," the school said, adding that the forfeitures affect an entire program, including athletes who had no involvement in the matter. The board's ruling is meant to be final, but the player could appeal to Superior Court under state law, where the case would be heard from the beginning. Meanwhile, the Wildcats will try to defend their Class 2A state title from last year.
