They could play a fledgling program that nearly guaranteed a win while racking up the maximum number of computer points.įerree and others raised red flags with officials, reporters and other schools as COF Academy continued to play games and confuse onlookers. It quickly became apparent that they were not a real school, and there were no classes going on.”īecause they portrayed themselves as a Division 1 school, a matchup against COF Academy became a favorable one for Ohio schools. We said, ‘OK, if you want to join, there’s a process.’ They gave us documentation and one of the things they provided was an address that led nowhere. But they kept saying, ‘No, no, it’s legitimate.’ Roy Johnson came to the OHSAA office and said they wanted to do things by the book and even wanted to join the OHSAA. “A first-year program with 750 boys? That’s not possible. “Immediately, it didn’t pass the smell test,” he says. So to get to the bottom of the COF Academy situation, he called to ask for their enrollment and spoke to Johnson himself, who told Ferree that COF Academy would have 750 students. That proved challenging with a team that didn’t have a website, roster or paper trail of any kind.Īs the resident “jack of all trades,” one of Ferree’s tasks was investigations into occasionally complex or difficult topics. Because the OHSAA’s playoff system is decided by a computer algorithm that assigns points for results based on division-which is in turn based on enrollment-the OHSAA has to have an enrollment figure for each opponent. Outside of Ohio, they played major programs like IMG and North Allegheny in Wexford, Pennsylvania.Īt the time, Ben Ferree was the assistant director of officiating and sport management at the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the governing body for Ohio high school sports.įerree’s interest in COF Academy began when teams started scheduling in 2018. ![]() The team’s in-state schedule alone featured Huber Heights Wayne, Cleveland St. But these weren’t just any teams-COF Academy was drawing top-tier matchups across Ohio and beyond. The program began as Christians of Faith Academy, known as COF Academy, and drew attention when it began appearing on the schedules of high school football teams. In fact, the story began in 2018, when Bishop Sycamore operated under a different name and Ohio high school sports officials began raising concerns. This wasn’t even the first time they had played IMG. The school didn’t come out of nowhere, and it didn’t start this year. Lost in the shuffle, however, is the fact that Bishop Sycamore isn’t brand new. Sycamore players looked tired and withstood huge hits throughout the game, leading many to wonder on social media how the matchup made its way to the flagship station of the Worldwide Leader. Sycamore was obviously outmatched, trailing 30-0 midway through the second quarter in a game that would end 58-0. The matchup was part of the GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff, a seven-game slate meant to highlight exciting programs from across the country.īut instead of a showcase, the game served as a national conversation-starter. Sunday afternoon, ESPN aired a high school football game between IMG Academy-a Florida school known as one of the biggest football powerhouses in the country-and a school called Bishop Sycamore, which arrived on the national scene as a complete unknown. ![]() But it feels like the biggest story in American sports centers around a high school football matchup involving a Columbus program that no one heard of a week ago. College football season is ramping up, and the NFL is about to kick off.
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