Sports 3 min read

Bellarmine football must forfeit all 6 wins after CCS rules San Jose team used ineligible player

By The Best News Network November 4, 2026

Bellarmine defeated Menlo-Atherton 30-7 in 2022, the last time the Bells were in the CCS playoffs. They had clinched a berth to return this year until Monday's news that they had to forfeit all their wins. (Courtesy of Dennis Lee)

One of the high school football season's feel-good stories took a bad twist this week when San Jose's Bellarmine was informed it would have to forfeit all six of its wins for using an ineligible player.

As first reported by the Mercury News, the Central Coast Section ruled the Bells (6-3, 3-3 West Catholic Athletic League) have used an ineligible player and thus hold a record of 0-9 and 0-6.

Their hopes for making a first CCS playoff appearance since 2022 are now dashed. The school cannot appeal the decision through the section but said it would pursue "legal avenues" in an attempt to overturn the forfeits, according to Bellarmine principal Rod Jemison.

"We do not dispute the violation occurred," Jemison wrote in a letter to parents that was obtained by the Chronicle. "However, we disagree with the severity of the associated consequences and their impact on the entire team."

The Bells, under first-year coach Tom Williams, a former assistant at St. Francis and Stanford and head coach at Yale University, had not won a WCAL game the previous two seasons and were a combined 4-26 overall over the previous three.

They mounted a turnaround that featured nonleague wins over Sobrato-Morgan Hill (37-6), Campolindo-Moraga (17-16) and Palo Alto (38-18) and WCAL victories over Mitty (10-7), Valley Christian (7-0) and last week past Sacred Heart Cathedral (24-20).

Now all will be recorded as defeats as the Bells head into Saturday's game at Riordan.

Texts to Jemison and CCS commissioner Dave Grissom were not immediately returned. The CCS is the region's high school sports governing body, one of 10 sections in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).

"Bellarmine received notice of a violation of CIF Central Coast Section (CCS) by-laws regarding athletic eligibility for transfer students," Jemison wrote. "The CCS Commissioner outlined consequences for the violation, including athletic ineligibility for the student-athlete in question and retroactive forfeiture of games in which that student participated.

"We acknowledge it is Bellarmine's responsibility to ensure compliance and understanding of CIF and CCS regulations, and we are committed to identifying and addressing any gaps in our oversight."

The letter indicates that "the football team, and coaching staff are preparing for Saturday's game with full support from the school's administration."

If the forfeits are upheld, the CCS playoff pairings will be drastically affected. Heading into the week, the Bells were seeded sixth in the Division 1 playoffs. With additional wins, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Valley Christian, Mitty and Palo Alto will all get favorable seeds.

Bellarmine is a longtime power of the CCS with eight section crowns under longtime coach Mike Janda, who won 284 games from 1984 to 2019. The program struggled near the end of Janda's tenure, last winning a WCAL title in 2015.

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This article originally published at Bellarmine football must forfeit all 6 wins after CCS rules San Jose team used ineligible player.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bellarmine-football-must-forfeit-6-175912829.html