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Player Will Sit Out Senior Year

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By DAREK SHARP

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

PLANT CITY - Sirchauncey Holloway won't be able tote the football in his senior season of high school, but he knows where he will play the year after that.

In an interesting few days the former Plant City Raider, who transferred to Armwood High in January, was declared ineligible but then agreed to a scholarship at Liberty University.

Holloway was Plant City's leading rusher as a junior, and his departure did not sit well with Plant City High officials, who made an inquiry to the Florida High School Athletics Association in May.

Officials investigated, and last week Holloway learned that the association found him in violation. Holloway was found guilty of having falsified his address in order to gain entry into Armwood, the association said.

He will not be allowed to play football as a senior.

In the athletics association's letter to Plant City High regarding its investigation, it concluded that Holloway's father, Calvin, "fabricated the entire scenario" regarding Sirchauncey's address. An address of a friend who lived in Seffner was used in paperwork submitted to Armwood, in order to justify a transfer to the school.

As a result, the report states, Holloway is "ineligible to represent any member school for a period of one year," meaning Holloway cannot play for any school in the state.

Armwood, which has become the powerhouse program in Hillsborough County, was cleared of any penalty for the situation.

The insinuation from Plant City High was that Armwood recruited Holloway, but that was judged not to be the case.

Plant City High's letter to the association was sent on May 23, describing the doubt in the Holloway circumstances.

Last year even with injuries, Holloway managed nearly 1,000 yards on the ground to go with nine touchdowns for Plant City. The Raiders' other top rusher, Keith Dawson, graduated, so Holloway's leaving has left new Raider head coach Jason Strunk with a tough hole to fill at a key position

After the letter was received, the association sent an investigator to Hillsborough County. Through observation and interviews with Armwood officials and the Holloways, along with the friend whose address was claimed, the investigator concluded that most of Plant City High's assertions were founded.

The investigator filed a report June 6 with his findings. He wrote, Calvin Holloway "states his decision to fabricate this scenario is a result of multiple failed meetings with the Plant City football coaches and administrators ... he states that in his mind the only recourse to protecting his son was to move him to another school."

Three days later, the athletics association decided to make Holloway ineligible.

Ironically, considering getting college attention was presumably part of the Holloway's motive, the running back signed a scholarship shortly after the whole ordeal.

Just two days after learning of his punishment, Holloway was no doubt in a better frame of mind, signing a scholarship with Liberty. The Flames play on the Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) level, and the school is located in Lynchburg, Va.

Liberty is often among the top 25 teams in the nation for its level.

Holloway couldn't be reached for comment.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampatrib.com.

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