GULF SHORES, Ala. (WKRG) — The high school football regular season comes to an end Friday ahead of round one of the state playoffs. As WKRG Sports first reported last week, the fate of the Class 5A, top-ranked team Gulf Shores remains in question as the Alabama High School Athletic Association investigates potential eligibility violations.
The Dolphins are looking to complete a perfect 10-0 regular season in its finale against B.C. Rain on Friday.
The game comes just days after a representative with the AHSAA visited the Gulf Shores campus. The state’s probe included in-person interviews, which began Tuesday.
WKRG Sports learned that several Gulf Shores football players and their families were questioned by the AHSAA investigator.
The Dolphins were turned in to the governing body by another member school two weeks ago. At the center of the AHSAA probe, among other evidence sent to the state, is an apartment lease contract for a student-athlete and their family.
The apartment lease lists a local company, Gulf Coast Athletics, as the party responsible for making rent payments. Pages of court documents and information gathered by News 5 reveals GCA, owned by Jason Barnett, paid monthly rent for apartments where at least four Gulf Shores High School student-athletes and their families lived.
At the conclusion of the investigation, a report will be sent to the AHSAA and Executive Director Alvin Briggs for an official ruling. There’s no set timeline for how long the process will take.
Following the final games of the regular season on Friday, representatives from each playoff team statewide will meet in Montgomery on Saturday morning, ahead of postseason play.
This is a developing story. News 5 will provide updates as more information becomes available.