Why Was An Oregon High School Disqualified From 2025 State Football Playoffs?

Whether it was intentional, or a logistical mistake, an Oregon HS football team is out of the state playoffs due to player use violations.

  The school used JV players in a varsity game who'd played the day before

Philomath is a 4A HS in Oregon, just southwest of Corvallis. Last Friday they beat Sweet Home 26-14 to capture a berth in the OSAA (Oregon State Activities Association) playoffs. OSAA is Oregon's version of the WIAA in WA.

4 A schools in Oregon are the rough equivalent of a 2A school in WA.

However, Philomath was notified by the OSAA they have been disqualified for using JV players who had played the night before in the JV game against Sweet Home. That was in violation of the 48-hour rule.

A player can play JV and Varsity in Oregon, but cannot play in any sanctioned football game that is less than 2 days apart.  WA has a similar rule, a player can play up to 8 quarters in one week, 2 full games, but only 4 quarters against the same team.

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And WA has similar JV rules--which is why at least in the Mid Columbia Conference and the Big 9 Conference, JV games are usually on Mondays, while Varsity are on Fridays. That gives a 72-hour window between them. Most freshman games are on Thursdays.

Philmath will also have to forfeit the win to Sweet Home, putting them in the playoffs for the first time in six years.

It is not known when the last time an Oregon HS was banned from the state football playoffs, but you may remember in WA, Bellevue HS was banned from 3A post-season play in 2016 for years of illegal recruiting, grade-fixing, and illegal payments to coaches.

That was the year Kamiakin in Kennewick won its first state football title in school history.