There was a meeting of the High School Football minds on Thursday and the conclusion? LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine made the announcement that the Ascension Episcopal High School Football Program has been awarded the 2016 Division IV State Championship. The championship had previously been vacated by Southern Lab and the LHSAA brain trust will head to the school to retrieve the trophy.

What led to the stripping of not only the 2016 but also the 2015 State Championship and the 2014 runner-up you may be wondering? Recruiting improprieties is what caused these implications for the Southern Lab Kittens.

Inside the meeting, Ascension's Athletic Director Eric Mouton was present and when the decision was put to a vote, it was unanimous.

When questioned how Mouton felt about the decision he said, "We're definitely happy, we were hoping that we would get it. We were hoping that it wouldn't be vacated. We went to the representatives on the committee in our area, like (North Vermilion principal Tommy) Byler and like Mr. Simon. They were kind of in agreement with us that, if they put it to a vote, that we should receive the state championship and it should not be vacated." (Advertiser)

Originally the Kitten's were issued a two-year postseason ban but when the committee met on Wednesday to address the schools appeal it was concluded that the ban would be reduced to one-year.

Mouton was asked if he thought there would be a celebration even now without being able to actually celebrate on the field and he stated,  "We didn't get to celebrate on the night of the state championship, but I guarantee there's going to be about 75 very, very happy kids and a lot of parents," Mouton said. "They'll get to celebrate when we're presented the trophy."

In the end the rules were broken and the Southern Lab Kittens were held responsible for their actions.

 

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