Northeast quarterback Charles Britt granted fifth year of eligibility
The Vikings' signal-caller will return to the field after a PIAA appeals committee overturned a District 12 ruling that had declared him ineligible in August.
Northeast quarterback Charles Britt was granted a fifth year of eligibility during a PIAA appeals hearing on Thursday, according to Vikings coach Phil Gormley.
Britt, who helped Northeast to the Public League Class 6A championship last season, will take the field for the Vikings in Friday night’s game against Martin Luther King, Gormley said.
Britt, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete, originally was declared ineligible to play this season during a District 12 hearing in August.
Northeast appealed to the PIAA, and a nine-member committee ruled unanimously to overturn the District 12 decision during the hearing at the organization’s headquarters in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, according to Gormley.
“It was very emotional,” Gormley said. “When they announced that he would be granted the fifth year, Charles just fell into his mother’s lap and cried like a 5-year-old kid.”
Britt originally was declared ineligible because he had entered high school in the class of 2019. Northeast’s bid to have Britt granted a fifth year of eligibility to play his fourth year of high school football was based in large part on a hardship appeal, Gormley said.
Britt played for Del-Val Charter in 2016 and for Neumann-Goretti in 2017.
Britt, a dual threat as a runner and passer, has been practicing with the Northeast team.
Gormley said the left-handed Britt projects as an NCAA Division II level college player. He has drawn recruiting interest from schools in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference such as Bloomsburg, according to the Vikings coach.
“He’s a solid D-2 quarterback,” Gormley said of Britt. "He’s not going to Alabama, but he’s a very good player.
"But this isn’t about a competitive advantage. This is about getting Charles across the finish line in school and getting him into college.”
The coach said Britt was anxious to take the field for the Vikings.
“He’s going to go off,” Gormley said. “The thing we’ve talked with him about is controlling his emotions because he’s going to be so excited.”