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Liberty removed from playoffs for using ineligible player

By Staff report 1 min read

The Liberty football team has been removed from the state playoffs.

On Saturday, the OHSAA disqualified the Leopards for using an ineligible player during their 26-16 win over Canton Central Catholic on Friday.

The Liberty Local School District released a statement on Saturday night.

"On Saturday afternoon, we identified that an ineligible student may have participated in Friday night’s playoff game against Canton Central Catholic," the statement said. "After confirming, we self-reported the situation to the Ohio High School Athletic Association. We respect the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s decision and will do everything possible to prevent this type of incident from happening again."

Liberty was scheduled to play top-seeded Perry in their Division V, Region 17, quarterfinal this Friday.

Now, instead of the Leopards, Canton Central Catholic will face Perry.

The Leopards' removal brings an end to their season. Liberty finished the regular season 9-1 and finished second in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier.

The area now has three teams left in the Region 17 playoffs, with Cardinal Mooney traveling to Girard and Garrettsville Garfield hosting Conneaut on Friday.

This story will be updated if further information is available.

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