Fenwick-IHSA showdown heads to court

Jim Blaney, who has been doing play-by-play for the area’s top high school games since 1994, vividly remembers the first few minutes after Plainfield North beat Fenwick in the controversial Class 7A state semifinal game on Saturday.

“The Fenwick fans were so stunned that it was absolutely quiet,” Blaney, who covered the game for CN100, said. “No one was saying anything or yelling anything, just an unbelievably weird quiet. I had the feeling they were so stunned that they couldn’t process what had happened.”

Officials made a crucial error at the end of regulation. Fenwick should have won 10-7 in regulation, but officials mistakenly awarded Plainfield North an untimed down after calling an intentional-grounding penalty on Fenwick. Plainfield North tied the score with a field goal to force overtime and went on to win 18-17.

The Illinois High School Association released a statement apologizing later Saturday night, but also said that “‘IHSA by-law 6.033 clearly states that ‘the decisions of game officials shall be final; protests against the decision of a game official shall not be reviewed by the Board of Directors.’ Given that rule, the contest result shall remain final with Plainfield North advancing to the Class 7A State Championship.’’

Fenwick filed suit against the IHSA on Monday, the case will be heard in Cook County Chancery Court at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The Fenwick-Plainfield North controversy raged on sports radio all day Tuesday, stealing the spotlight from the Bears, Bulls and Notre Dame football. Tensions are high on both sides of the issue.

Fenwick practiced on Tuesday. That’s allowed by IHSA rules, so the Friars are preparing for a situation in which things to go their way in court. Neither school is commenting on the matter, but the IHSA issued a statement on Tuesday.

“We are disappointed whenever we are forced to defend the Association’s by-laws, which have been voted into existence by IHSA member schools, in the court system, especially when that challenge comes from a member high school,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in the statement. “However, given the circumstances surrounding this contest, we understood that it was a possible outcome.”

The Class 7A state title game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday. East St. Louis, which will be heavily favored against Plainfield North or Fenwick, is stuck having to prepare for two opponents.

This isn’t the first time an issue like this has made it to the courts. It happened in Oklahoma in 2014. Locust Grove won a football playoff game against Fredrick A. Douglass after officials mistakenly interpreted the rules after a penalty, just as in the Fenwick-Plainfield North game. Douglass sued the state activities association, asking that the final 1:30 of the game be replayed.

District Judge Bernard M. Jones II ruled against it, concerned that a “slippery slope of solving athletic contests in court instead of on campus will inevitably usher in a new era of robed referees and meritless litigation due to disagreement with or disdain for decisions of gaming officials.”