South Elgin youth football loses playoff fight in court
A South Elgin Youth Football League team unsuccessfully petitioned in court to compete after it was banned from the playoffs.
South Elgin assistant coach Mike Rendina said Kane County Judge David Akemann ruled Thursday against the team's petition to be reinstated in the playoffs of the Bill George Youth Football League, citing the chaos it would have caused in scheduling. South Elgin officials said Bill George accused the team of stacking its roster, which the team denies.
"We decided to put up a good fight," Rendina said. "The kids got to experience what it was to be in a courtroom. And sometimes you learn from your rough times."
South Elgin coach Steve Wascher said the team will not file a lawsuit nor press the issue further. Jerry Miller, president of the Bill George league board, declined to comment Friday.
The South Elgin Patriots senior varsity team, made up mostly of eighth-graders, started in the "silver" level of the league and handily won the first six games of the season. A few players were injured in matchups against South Elgin and the remaining teams decided not to play the last three games, Bartlett Youth Football silver team coach John Rivelli said.
"The towns got together and said, 'Hey, we're not going to put our kids' in harms' way,' " Rivelli said.
Rendina objected to that. "We had five injuries this year and nobody is crying about it - including my son who broke his wrist."
The other teams asked Bill George to look into the issue, Rivelli said. Bill George officials first moved the South Elgin team one level up to the AFC gold level, then decided the Patriots shouldn't play anymore.
South Elgin should have petitioned for an AFC gold spot before the season started, because 15 of its 23 players had played at the top level, or NFC gold, the previous season, Rivelli said.
"To put the kids where they don't belong and put them against a lesser kid because you want to guarantee yourself a championship, that's not what youth sports is about," Rivelli said.
Rendina said his team won fairly and pointed out the previous year South Elgin had a 1-7 record at the gold level. The Patriots decided to give the AFC gold spot to an Elgin team that recently joined South Elgin and whose players are bigger, Rendina said. The players on the silver team weighed an average 116 pounds, far below gold levels, he said.
"It's not like we took a bunch of huge, burly kids out there and they intentionally hurt somebody," he said. "Allowing the politics of adults to transpire without just cause for their actions is not justifiable in any case - let alone when kids are affected."
Rendina said Bill George officials assign spots to teams and review all rosters. "They did they meet the criteria. It was a viable roster according to their own bylaws."
But Rivelli said teams are responsible for playing kids at the right level.
"This team (South Elgin) has 22 kids that are all probably ready to play high school freshman football next year. I don't have that. No other town playing in this league has that."