The Morton Panthers were ruled out of the Class 3A playoffs because of an ineligible player.

Morton was set to play Raleigh Friday night for the Region 6-3A title.

But the school lost the game 34-29 and instead of being the No. 2 seed, the Panthers are now out of the playoffs.

MHSAA Associate Director Rickey Neaves told The Clarion-Ledger Saturday morning that it learned Morton had played an ineligible player all season. He said all eight wins prior to Friday’s loss were forfeited.

According to an MHSAA statement posted Saturday, Morton administrators reported the violations prior to Friday’s game.

Morton coach Ty Weems said a player who was four weeks too old played on special teams.

“It’s an unfortunate situation, and I hate it for the kids because they’re going to be robbed of an opportunity to play for a championship at no fault of their own,” Weems said. “It just breaks my heart for them.”

The Panthers were 8-2 prior to the MHSAA’s ruling.

Contact Chris Whitaker at (601) 961-7344 or cwwhitaker@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @ChrisWhitaker79 on Twitter.