Catholic High-New Iberia's season was on the right track, but a recent routine LHSAA audit will force the Panthers to forfeit four precious wins.

In one swift move, Catholic High's record drops from 6-2 to 2-6...all due to an eligibility issue with a special teams player. His GPA was fine, but the player in question didn't have enough credits to  be ruled eligible to play. Head Coach Brent Indest told Kevin Foote of The Daily Advertiser that their system simply failed them this time.

"It’s highly disappointing,” Indest said. “It’s a really difficult time for the kids and the parents. All we can do now is fight through it and finish out the year as good as possible."

Indest's crew was picking up momentum after starting the season with an emotional loss to Vermilion Catholic. Sophomore Quarterback Diallo Landry was figuring things out with Seth Pierre in the backfield, and the Panthers looked like one of the only squads that could test Notre Dame in District 5-2A. Now the Panthers are simply looking for a way to slide into the playoffs with a low seed.

Dotting the i's and crossing the t's is always important, but when the minor details cost this much, it can be hard to overcome. Indest said his team is taking it in stride.

"I’ve always said that kids are lot more resilient than adults,” he said. “Believe it or not, we had one of our better practices of the season today. We have a small senior class, but those kids really took charge and set a great example for the rest of the team."

The Panthers still have two weeks left to add W's to their record. After giving up wins against Loreauville, West St. Mary, Erath and Delcambre (ineligible player only participate in first six games), Catholic High needs to accrue enough power points to simply get an invite to the playoffs.

Imagine going from 6-2 (5-0 in district) to 2-6 (2-3) in the blink of an eye. Rules are rules, but it's hard not to feel for the Panthers in this scenario.

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