When it was learned last week that Joppatowne High School’s undefeated football team would have to forfeit its first three victories due to an ineligible player, Joppatowne alum Eric Hamburg, a first-team defense All-Harford County selection in 2003, e-mailed about his unhappiness with the penalty.

Hamburg, currently a U.S. Army contractor working at Aberdeen Proving Ground, said he understands the situation, but doesn’t believe the entire football team should be punished for a personal mistake. Curious about his continued loyalty to his old school, we asked him a few questions. This is what he had to say:

What weight class did you wrestle?

I wrestled the 135- to 140-pound weight class. I would often wrestle up a weight class during dual-meets to meet the opposing team’s good wrestler. I was a consistent, 20-wins-a-year wrestler. I didn’t wrestle my senior year because of having to shed weight and it became a health risk. After all, running in a trash bag and sweating it out in the boiler room doesn’t really help one’s health. Do I regret not wrestling my senior year? Of course. I was looked upon as a kid that wasted his talent.

Have you made it to any Joppatowne football games this season?

I have not made it to any Joppatowne football games this season, but I did attend a couple games last season.

How do you follow your team?

I follow my team by talking to former players on the phone that I played with in the past. Also, last year my stepbrother J.R. Myers played for the Mariners.

What do you think the penalty should be for an ineligible player?

I think that the penalty for an ineligible player should be [that] the county should pay the opposing school the money that was funded for that student to attend that school. Another idea would be to suspend the player for that year. When I say opposing school, I mean fund the school that the kid was and/or is supposed to attend.

You say the entire team shouldn't be punished for the misdeed of one. What about the idea of winning or losing as a team -- one for all and all for one, good or bad?

I think it would be totally different if we were talking about a player throwing his helmet or vandalizing other team’s facilities, but that's not the case. This isn't about winning or losing. This is about kids that have practiced hard and dedicated themselves in the classroom to stay academically eligible and being punished for one's selfishness.

Not knowing the circumstances of the situation -- besides the basic fact that a player was ineligible because of where he lives -- it's difficult to know whether Joppatowne should get a pass. Do you agree or disagree with that? Why?

I know of the situation and, after knowing the circumstances, the appeal should most definitely be granted. I just think that the MPSSAA should take certain cases into consideration. For example, if a kid was in a hostile environment at home and moved during the season to live with a grandmother outside the district and didn’t change his address, how can that be overlooked? You never know if it's a temporary thing or a permanent move.

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Joppatowne, which would be 6-0 after having battered Bel Air, 41-0, last Friday, is appealing the three forfeits. Now 3-3 and ranked No. 15 in The Baltimore Sun’s poll, the Mariners play at North Harford tonight.

-- Sandra McKee