NORWICH – Norwich High School’s varsity football program will enter the 2007 season with a nifty new playing surface and four wins stripped from its 2006 record.

It was discovered at the end of last season that a senior lineman was ineligible to participate in varsity sports, a development that resulted in the forfeiture of all wins. Norwich head coach John Pluta and the Norwich athletics department took immediate steps to correct the mistake. “We went to our A.D. at the time, Deen Veenhof, and letters were written to each of the four schools’ athletic directors, and I personally met with all four of those head coaches to explain the situation,” Pluta said. “It is no one else’s responsibility except for mine. He was a senior who was age appropriate and met all the age requirements, He played football two years for us and those were the only years he ever played. My mistake was the year he started ninth grade.”

Athletic eligibility requirements allow an athlete four consecutive years of participation from the time that student enters the ninth grade, Pluta said.