A judge has ruled that a Cumberland County high school football team is not eligible to compete in playoffs over an investigation into an alleged grade-fixing scandal at the school.

Terry Sanford High School had been back on the field Saturday night, even after officials said one player's grades were forged and the entire team was ruled ineligible. The team won against rivals Pine Forest High School by a score of 48-29.

Principal Diane Antolak was officially removed earlier that week from her position at Terry Sanford High School after being accused of fixing grades.

Late Thursday, though, a judge ruled in favor of some of the Bulldogs' players and coaches, giving them a temporary injunction to keep playing until the investigation finishes.

Based on a ruling issued Tuesday, a judge said that the team's season is now over.

On Saturday Terry Sanford was ready for the playoffs, and the players took the field with a simple message written on the banner they ran through: "We're back."

"They came ready to play football," said Coach Wayne Inman. "That's why we're here."

Inman had his kids in a playoff mentality against a tough cross-town rival, Pine Forest.

"Terry Sanford needs to stay focused. I think they can win this game," said Bryant Moore, whose son plays for the Bulldogs. "They can pull it off. They're playing real good ball right now."

Staying focused was probably tough; there can't be much that's more distracting than the potential for an entire season to be forfeited.

"They were really hurt. They were really upset; the whole team," said Moore. "It brought a lot of heartache."

Terry Sanford fans say the punishment the Bulldogs may face doesn't fit the crime.

"You got kids playing. These are 17, 16 year old kids," said Ronald Monroe, a Terry Sanford alum. "They deserve to play."

Across the field, the Pine Forest Trojans were hoping to end the Bulldog's season the old-fashioned way.

Some fans, though, admitted they didn't think Saturday's game should even have taken place.

"In my house it was a big disappointment, everybody was down," said Richard Trower, whose brother plays for the Trojans. "But at the end of the day we was just like 'Go out there and play.'"

The Pine Forest administration was willing to accept whatever happens off and on the field, though.

"It's something that's beyond our control. We're just out here, going to play a football game," said Pine Forest Athletic Director Vernon Aldridge. "It's not something that we can be concerned about."

It's also a situation nobody will forget for a long time.

Terry Sanford ended up beating Pine Forest 49-28. If the Bulldogs are deemed ineligible this week, then Pine Forest would still be out of the playoffs, and Terry Sanford's round-two opponent would get a bye.

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