Tuesday marked the end of the football season for Terry Sanford High School for the second time in the span of about a week.

Last Monday, the Cumberland County School District forfeited the team's entire season amid allegations that the principal had forged grades for one of the players.

Principal Diane Antolak has since been removed from her post.

Thursday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing the team to continue playing.

The Bulldogs went out Saturday and beat Pine Forest High School in the first round of the playoffs.

But now, that same judge said the team and coaches had no legitimate argument so the Bulldogs' season is over -- again.

"It hasn't been all sad and everything, but everyone is kind of depressed about it," said Terry Sanford freshman James Pool.

The hearing centered around one player and three of his classes: an English class where his grade jumped from a 54 to 78 without the teacher's approval, and two other classes that he was given credit for, but never even attended.

"In this case at Terry Sanford, the system fell down," said Dr. Frank Till, Cumberland County's schools superintendent. "Was it unique to Terry Sanford, and therefore we can correct it within Terry Sanford, or is it some kind of a statement within our own system?"

The school district had thought all along that the player should have been declared ineligible, and that would force the team to forfeit all its games.

Head Coach Wayne Inman still thinks differently.

He testified he thinks his player was getting legitimate extra help, as part of the "Personal Education Plan" that works with students who have to go to the Cumberland Night School for disciplinary reasons; that PEP paperwork, however, was not filed for this particular student.

When asked about if changes to the player's transcript bothered him, Inman testified forcefully: "No sir, it does not."

The coach buried his face in his hands when the judge announced his decision.

Inman avoided media after the hearing, and did not return calls.

Despite their obvious different views on the subject, the school district will not reprimand him.

"If the coach honestly believed that, then I'll accept him on his word that he honestly believed that what he saw made him eligible; when we saw it we thought it made him ineligible," said Till. "I believe it's an honest mistake."

Meanwhile, the Pine Forest Trojans who lost to Terry Sanford on Saturday now have new life themselves.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association put them back in the playoffs late Tuesday afternoon.

That means they've got a little catching up to do.

"The rule is once you've exited the playoffs, you're not allowed to practice," said Pine Forest Athletic Director Vernon Aldridge. "So yesterday we made an announcement for all the varsity football players to go home until further notice."

Tuesday's decision only affects an injunction related to the playoffs; Terry Sanford coaches and players still have the opportunity to continue their lawsuit after the fact.

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