Tonight’s backyard showdown between Pope and Walton has taken on a different tone, after the Georgia High School Association stripped the Raiders of 3 wins for allowing an ineligible player to participate in the first 4 games of the season.
Walton self reported the infraction after the player left the team and the school. The Raiders whose record was 4-1, will now have a record of 1-4. The ineligible player did not play in last week’s win over Wheeler. The penalty does impact Walton’s win over region rival Lassiter, making their region record stand at 1-1
Walton, who has been a playoff team for 12 of the last 13 seasons ,is led by first year head coach Mo Dixon. After tonight’s game with Pope, Walton still has region games agianst Woodstock, Milton, Cherokee and Etowah remaining.