Staff file photo / R. Michael Semple Warren G. Harding’s Jabari Felton sacks Bishop Sycamore quarterback Noah McClendon during the teams matchup in 2020.

An Ohio online charter high school, headed by a former Warren man and Youngstown State University football player, is under scrutiny as questions arose over the legitimacy of the school and its varsity football team.

Bishop Sycamore, a non-OHSAA sanctioned charter school based out of Columbus, has been in national headlines in recent days, beginning with an ESPN televised game Sunday against IMG Academy of Florida. Bishop Sycamore suffered a 58-0 defeat.

The game was played just two days after Bishop Sycamore also had played Pittsburgh-area Sto-Rox Friday night. ESPN broadcasters questioned the football program during Sunday’s game when they couldn’t find evidence to support Bishop Sycamore’s claims that its roster contained Division I prospects.

“Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster, and to be frank, a lot of that, we could not verify,” ESPN broadcaster Anish Shroff said during the broadcast. “They did not show up in our database, they did not show up in the databases of other recruiting services. So, OK, that’s what you’re telling us, fine, that’s how we take it in. From what we’ve seen so far, this is not a fair fight, and there’s got to be a point where you’re worried about health and safety.”

According to USAToday, the school was founded by Andre Peterson. Peterson is a Warren Western Reserve graduate who played football at YSU in the 1980s. According to USAToday, Peterson is the school’s director and also coaches the football program’s offensive and defensive lines.

Attempts to reach Peterson on Tuesday were unsuccessful. A call placed to the school and an email were not returned.

However, in an interview published by USAToday, Peterson pushed back on claims that the program is a fraud, saying his son is a part of the roster.

“There’s nothing that I’ve gotten out of this that would constitute it as a scam because I’m not gaining anything financially from what we’re doing,” Peterson told the USA Today. “The reality of it is that I have a son (Javan) that’s also in the program and has been in the program for four years.

“If it’s a scam and the kids are not going to school and not doing what they’re supposed to do, then I’m literally scamming myself. And most importantly, I’m hurting my own son. So when people say stuff like that … I would literally be taking my son’s future and throwing it in the trash.”

News reports indicated that the school listed no physical address and offered no active website after the site was shut down Tuesday. The USA Today had reported earlier on Tuesday that the website looked like a football blog with advice on how to be recruited.

USA Today also reported Tuesday that the program has been active since 2019 and during that span the Centurions have only mustered four wins, with all of them coming in 2019.

During their existence, Bishop Sycamore has scheduled games against football powerhouses like Florida’s IMG Academy and Akron Hoban, in an effort to put its program on the map.

In 2020, Bishop Sycamore faced off against Warren G. Harding in a replacement game. The Raiders originally had been set to play Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary last October, but SVSM canceled due to injuries. Harding defeated Bishop Sycamore, 37-14.

The Ohio Department of Education on Tuesday described Bishop Sycamore as a non-chartered, non-tax supported school. An Ohio High School Athletic Association spokesman on Tuesday confirmed the school is not sanctioned by the organization which serves as the governing body for Ohio athletic programs for junior and senior high schools.

This season, the Sycamore Centurions sit at 0-3, and teams on its schedule are starting to drop the program. The Dallas Morning News reported recently that Duncanville, a notoriously top-tier team in Duncanville, Texas, recently canceled their matchup with the school.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has also tried to step in and has reportedly asked the Ohio Department of Education to conduct a formal investigation into Bishop Sycamore.

“Like many Ohioans, I am concerned by the recent reports and questions raised about Bishop Sycamore,” DeWine said Tuesday in a series of tweets. “While this weekend’s football game brought concerns about the health and safety of players, it also raised red flags about the school’s operations.

“Schools like Bishop Sycamore have an obligation under Ohio law to meet certain minimum standards. Whether Bishop Sycamore meets these standards is not clear. I have asked

@OHEducation (the Ohio Department of Education) to conduct an investigation into Bishop Sycamore to ensure compliance with Ohio law and to ensure the school is providing the educational opportunities Ohio students deserve.”