East Forfeit Changed to “No Contest” by IHSAA

Attend the NEW East High Senior Night on Thursday, October 23 at Williams Stadium beginning at 5:40 PM.

Attend the NEW East High Senior Night on Thursday, October 23 at Williams Stadium beginning at 5:40 PM.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has informed Des Moines Public Schools that the forfeit forced upon the East Scarlets football team in their game last Friday against Ames High School is now a “no contest.” The game will not be considered a “win” for Ames or a “loss” for East on their records.

“While it was impossible to correct this situation – namely, turning back the clock and playing the game last Friday – this is at least a half step forward to remedy this situation and move on,” said Tom Ahart, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. “It’s unfortunate that this situation was created in the first place, but I appreciate that the IHSAA recognized the directive they made last week was wrong and are bringing some measure of fairness to East High School and their students.”

Last Friday, the IHSAA and Ames reacted together to unsubstantiated and incredible safety concerns at East that resulted from social media posts. At that time, the IHSAA directed DMPS officials to either reschedule the game for that night in Ames, Saturday at East (in daylight only) or forfeit. The Des Moines Police Department had informed the school district that there was no credible threat to East High School.

“I really want to thank the community for their great support in this situation,” added Ahart. “Thousands of people weighed in to express their support of East and expecting something be done to correct the situation. The East side stood strong and proud for their Scarlets, but they also had great support from all of Des Moines and across Iowa.”

Last Friday’s game was to have been Senior Night at East. That event has been rescheduled for this Thursday, beginning at 5:40 PM at Williams Stadium.

“As I said last week, this was about more than one football game,” said Ahart. “What happened was an insult to our schools, our students and our entire community as some internet rumors gave people an excuse to turn their backs on Des Moines. On Thursday evening, let’s all come together for our community and, most importantly, for a great group of students.”

East High School plays their final regular season game on Friday night at Sioux City North.