Liberty Christian football was once again knocking on the door of a deep TAPPS Division I football playoff run, but an eligibility dispute has ended hopes of another state title.
In a state executive committee hearing Tuesday, TAPPS ruled a Liberty Christian football player ineligible, forcing the Warriors to forfeit all games and be removed from the playoffs.
“Today, the TAPPS athletic organization issued an unfair and unjust ruling against Liberty Christian School,” said Liberty Christian in a statement. “As a result, our football team has been removed from postseason play.”
The Warriors were set to play the first game of the playoffs Friday against the St. Michael’s Warriors out of the Austin area.
Instead, Liberty Christian will head to the offseason.
According to a report from the Dallas Morning News, Warriors receiver Jace Johnson was the player in question. TAPPS determined Johnson had violated the TAPPS “follow the coach rule.”
Johnson, who transferred to Liberty Christian from Abilene Cooper High School, was allegedly involved with Liberty Christian coach Antonio Griffin and his LionHearted Football 7-on-7 team.
Last week, a TAPPS district executive committee recommended the state executive board rule Johnson ineligible and suspend Griffin from coaching for the rest of the season.
As a consequence of Tuesday’s ruling, Liberty Christian must forfeit all games in which Johnson played, which is all of them, according to film posted to Johnson’s social media.
Griffin is also supposed to be suspended from coaching for at least the rest of the season, however, the season is over.
Liberty Christian plans to fight the ruling, but did not say if an appeal could be filed in time to allow them to reenter postseason play or not.
“We strongly disagree with the TAPPS ruling and we provided clear and unambiguous evidence to TAPPS which demonstrated our innocence against the false assertions that were made against our football program,” said the school. “This unfair ruling ignores the clear and obvious facts in this case, and we are considering our various legal options moving forward. We will continue to do everything we can to fight this unjust ruling.”
For now, the Warriors, which finished the regular season 8-2 overall and 6-0 in district play, will not have the chance to win a state title under new head coach Josh Martin.
“Liberty Christian operates with ethics and integrity, and we have a strong culture of excellence based on our foundational mission to inspire and equip leaders to impact the world for Christ,” said Liberty Christian. “We will continue to operate every aspect of our school consistent with this important mission.”
Neither Martin nor Liberty Christian Athletic Director Randy Mayes could be reached for additional comment on the eligibility situation.
Martin took over the program after former coach Jason Witten left to coach at the University of Oklahoma, where he was recently promoted to offensive coordinator after OU fired Ben Arbuckle.
Witten’s son, Cooper Witten, is one of the top recruits in the state and has committed to play football for the Sooners after finishing the season with Liberty Christian.
Congratulations @CooperWitten_ #BeOne #ForHim https://t.co/2Bzu3eV7K2
— Warrior Football (@LCS__Football) October 19, 2026
Liberty Christian recently named the school’s football field in honor of Witten for his contributions to the school and its football program.
