NEWBERRY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – The state 2a high school football playoffs were well underway Friday night in Newberry.
Alex Acosta’s son, number 34, was in the thick of the action at linebacker. However, that action didn’t exist earlier this season.
“They try their best to try too hard to play this sport,” Acosta said. “They do everything they can”
A few weeks ago, Newberry forfeited their game against Gray Collegiate Academy, a charter school in West Columbia, and they weren’t alone.
Throughout the season, all the schools in the region did the same.
Eau Claire, Mid Carolina, Columbia, Fairfield Central, and Keenan refused to play Gray Collegiate.
“I support that 100% because that’s the only way that we can raise their voice and say that something ain’t right,” Acosta said.
Gray Collegiate went 6-0 in the region this season without ever playing a snap against their regional opponents.
In fact, Gray Collegiate hasn’t lost a regional game for the last 6 seasons.
Supporters in Newberry believe charter schools like Gray have an unfair advantage on the playing field.
I think that is very, you know, unfair for those kids that are that have chosen to go to gray, and I hate that for them and their families,” Newberry community member Jack Owens said. “You know, at the same time, it’s a way for the public schools to make a statement and hopefully get that change, and that’s what’s happened.”
Schools like Gray Collegiate have similar enrollment numbers as small public schools, but under South Carolina law, a charter school can have students from around the state.
“It’s David against Goliath,” said Acosta. “So it’s really hard. They can try their best, but you gotta be honest, they won’t be able to show up because it’s an unfair fight.”
Despite the complaints from opponents, Gray Collegiate Academy leaders say the accusations that they recruit players are flat-out wrong.
“Absolutely not,” said Gray Collegiate athletic director and head football coach Adam Holmes. “Absolutely not. No part? No part whatsoever. That is 100% false, and if those narratives are out there, that’s sad.”
“Everybody wants to make this narrative, said Gray Collegiate principal Dr. Brian Newsome. “They call the high school league all the time and the HS league investigates and says Gray didn’t do anything wrong. We have zero violations with the high school league. People make it a narrative because it sounds good. We have people recruiting here and people recruiting there. No. People come here because we have zero bomb threats in 10 years. We had zero fights the last 4 years. Because it’s a safe place. That’s number one.”
Dr. Newsome also touted the school’s dual-enrollment program that allows students to get up to 50 hours of college credit and his school’s 99% graduation rate.
As for the evening playing field, Dr. Newsome and coach Holmes agree, something needs to change. They tell us they’ve petitioned to move up a class, but there’s no need to go any higher.
“I know how hard we’ve worked to get here,” said Holmes. “Nobody talks about our first year at 2-8. Then 5-5, then 4-6, 4-7, and we build all the way up to winning a state championship. But that’s building a program.”
When we asked about what’s fair, the High School Sports League said there’s only so much they can do.
“The membership has been in place since 1913, and they’ve always tried to settle their own issues among their membership, to the level that they have the authority and they don’t have the authority to do it,” high school league director Jerome Singleton said.
The law is why Newberry City Councilman Lamont Glasgow says it’s up to state lawmakers to get involved to fix it.
“The sad part about the situation is, at the end of the day, the kids are the ones losing,” said Glasgow. “They’re the ones not being able to play they’re the ones that have to forfeit games because of the system that they create. And so we have to get this thing together so that these kids can go out and compete. Because they work hard to get to this point. And hate it that it’s a situation that needs to be fixed by the adults.”
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