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Fluvanna football’s Tibbs cleared to play

Fluvanna County’s football program got a boost this week as the Virginia High School League appeal process reversed a previous decision and upheld the eligibility of Dashon Tibbs, the former Albemarle High quarterback who transferred to Fluvanna this offseason.

Tibbs, who backed up Lee Carneal last season but saw substantial action for the Patriots, should be a boost to the Flucos’ offense as a dual-threat quarterback.

“I’m just excited for the young man,” said Fluvanna head coach Jason Barnett. “It didn’t hit me until the appeal. He honestly has made it feel like he’s been here forever. You almost forget he has an entire life he left over at Albemarle, he’s just such a leader. It didn’t hit me how important this is until we went to that appeal.”

Tibbs, a senior, clocked in at a 4.72 40-yard dash in the Central Virginia Elite Combine this spring. His presence should give the Flucos’ newly installed offense a boost as he can be exactly the kind of playmaking athlete Fluvanna needs on that side of the ball. It also gives the Flucos options at that spot as Austin Foster, a junior, saw extensive time behind center last season. Since both players are solid athletes, Tibbs and Foster should find a way to work together, especially since Tibbs went through the exact same process of having two talented quarterbacks and just one spot with Carneal at Albemarle last year.

The process perhaps shouldn’t have gone to this third appeal as there’s an exception to a the VHSL’s transfer rule (28-6-1 in the handbook) in the VHSL rule book that indicates that if one system (in this case Albemarle because of a family move into the Fluvanna district) doesn’t allow a student athlete to re-enroll he or she is immediately eligible to play in another system. But Tibbs’ case was viewed strictly under the basic transfer rule that deems a player ineligible without a corresponding parental move before that was revealed that his situation fit the exception. This final appeal was passed with a 3-0 vote by the panel.

Tibbs has drawn interest from several FCS schools. Now he’ll get the opportunity to put together some game film for that process.

“He has a chance to play at the next level and so it’s great for people to get a chance to see him,” Barnett said.

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