Goldsboro opts out of playoffs due to injuries

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 10, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Goldsboro is sitting out the postseason. And the reason has caused an uproar within the community.

Late Friday evening, the school contacted the N.C. High School Athletic Association and said it wished to "opt out of the playoffs due to injuries."

Goldsboro had just concluded regular-season play with a 56-0 loss to state-ranked and once-beaten Greene Central with a third-string quarterback running the offense.

The Association gave the email emergency consideration and granted the school's request. The school did not have to follow the procedure of submitting a playoff declaration form that carries an "opt out" provision which requires four signatures -- one each from the school system's superintendent, school principal, athletic director and head coach.

Second-year GHS head coach Bennett Johnson emailed athletics director Dwight Sutton, and Sutton sent the email to Tra Waters at the Association.

"The email we sent in, we were being honest," Johnson said. "We told the Association that we were down to our third quarterback on a thin team. We were surprised after the fact with the signatures not being done that it still went through.

"It happened so fast. I told Sutton that it would be in the best interest of the program if we went ahead and told them where we were injury-wise, where we stood and how we were concerned about some of the kids' safety in the program."

GHS Principal Brian Weeks did not receive the email until Sunday evening. He met with Johnson and Sutton on Monday, and turned the matter over to Dean Sauls at the central office.

When asked if any repercussions would take place regarding the decision to not participate in the postseason, Weeks said any questions specific to personnel would need to be addressed to the central office.

The decision flooded several social media sites Saturday afternoon, especially after the 2-A (small-school) seedings had been released by the Association. Two reputable websites -- HighSchoolOT.com and SimmonsRatings -- each had the Cougars receiving anywhere from a 14 to 16 seed.

Johnson knew Goldsboro (5-6 overall) was a "bubble" team after its fourth-place finish in Eastern Carolina Conference play. He considered the possibility of suiting up JV players if the Cougars earned a wild card, but decided to stay with his original decision -- one he described as 'spur of the moment' and that 'he probably reacted too quickly' because he thought he was doing the best thing at that time.

The last three schools selected to the 16-team eastern draw were Bartlett Yancey, Farmville Central and West Bladen.

Johnson met with the players on Monday.

"(Reactions) were kind of mixed," he said. "All were disappointed. Some took it better than others. At the end of the day, I can still look the players in the eyes and communicate with them. We're all disappointed."

Johnson understands the community's perception of him may change and that many supporters of the program consider it unfair that the team will not participate in the postseason.

"I mean this is going to be a hard one for everyone to swallow," he said. "We're going to press forward from this point. I just hope everyone else can handle it as well as the kids did. I don't know what my future holds. I know there are a lot of upset folks right now. It's going to be a mess.

"I've accepted it."

Goldsboro's last playoff appearance was 2012 when it won the Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season championship, and finished 10-2 overall after a second-round loss at Northampton.