Rancho Verde’s record drops from 4-0 to 2-2

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First, the bad news.

I leave town for a few days and one of my top Inland Empire squads, Rancho Verde, turns into a .500 team. The Mustangs are still undefeated on the field and, in my opinion, one of the top 25 teams in the Southland. But they recently forfeited their first two victories over Tustin and Yucaipa for using an ineligible player.

According to Kevin Stipp, the Rancho Verde boys’ athletic director, the Mustangs played this unnamed transfer in those first two games, then realized he might not be eligible and yanked him for the third and fourth games. At the same time, the player filed a hardship waiver with the Southern Section and it was granted, to the surprise of Stipp, and the kid’s now eligible.

There was some confusion between Stipp and Rancho Verde Coach Pete Duffy, who previously coached at Los Angeles Fremont and has at least one starter who is a former Fremont player. They were hoping the hardship waiver would be retroactive, allowing the Mustangs to keep the victories, but section spokesman Thom Simmons said that’s not the case. Rancho Verde used an ineligible player its first two games and that’s that.

Stipp, by the way, might best be remembered for his tenure as boys’ basketball coach at Santa Ana Valley. He watched the quick rise and even quicker fall of one of the great prospects to come out of Orange County, Olujimi Mann.

And now the good news......Ummmm......nevermind.

- Dan Arritt