Cedar Park Christian becomes fourth school to forfeit against Archbishop Murphy

EVERETT, Wash. — Another school has canceled an upcoming football game against Archbishop Murphy High School amid concerns the team was outsizes opponents and allegations of recruiting athletes through scholarships.

Cedar Park Christian canceled Friday's game against Murphy on Monday. Friday is Murphy's homecoming game.

School officials released a statement:

AMHS has learned Cedar Park Christian High School will forfeit our football game this Friday.

AMHS will continue to hold Homecoming festivities throughout the week in preparation for Saturday's Homecoming Dance. Wildcat Alumni are passionate about coming back for Homecoming week and will be putting on an alumni football game at 7pm on Friday night at Terry Ennis Stadium.

The Archbishop Murphy High School football team, cheer squad, pep band, and student body are all looking forward to the October 21st home game against Olympic High School. The school will be honoring seniors and their families during this game.

The football team will continue practicing this week and will support the AMHS Alumni on Friday.

Murphy outscored its opponents 170-0 in its first three games this year. That led to three forfeits, including the October 7 game against Granite Falls.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, players and school officials with Archbishop Murphy held a news conference to address the forfeits. Athletic director and football coach Jerry Jensen said his players suffered their fair share of losses when the school transitioned from 1A to 2A.

>> RELATED: Archbishop Murphy addresses forfeited games

However, Murphy has been playing in the 2A classification since the 2004-2005 school year. Jensen was neither the coach nor the athletic director when the switch was made. Murphy moved in 2004 after winning back-to-back 1A state titles.

Since moving to 2A, Murphy has been to the state playoffs nine times and has a 19-9 state tournament record, including three second-place finishes.

A Class 1A school has between 225 and 471 students, and a 2A school has between 472 and 990 students. Murphy’s enrollment was 369, according to the latest data from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the state rule-making body for high school sports.

Murphy has three players more than 300 pounds and 13 players taller than 6 feet. The roster includes a 6-foot-8, 260-pound defense end and a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive tackle.

Granite Falls, which has 122 more students than Murphy according to WIAA data, has at least five players taller than 6 foot, according to an online roster. That includes a 6-foot-4 226-pound lineman and a 6-foot-3, 185-pound wide receiver.

“You teach your kids what’s reasonable and what’s not,” said Stacey Morris’, whose son is a 14-year-old, 117-pound safety on the 2-4 team.

Cedar Park Christian, which the WIAA lists as having 289 students compared to Murphy's 369, is a 1A school in Bothell. Its roster lists only one senior: a 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback and linebacker.

Cox Media Group