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Liberty Christian has been banned from the Texas football playoffs.
Argyle Liberty Christian was set to be the No. 1 seed in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I football playoffs after an eight-win regular season. They have now been barred.
The Warriors will not compete in the postseason due to the use of an ineligible player. The coaching staff failed to reveal a prior connection to the transfer.
After the relationship was uncovered by TAPPS, punishment was handed down. Liberty Christian will be forced to forfeit games. The coach in question faces suspension. The team will not compete for a state title.
Argyle Liberty Christian is a football powerhouse.
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A map showing Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas.
The school is located in Argyle, Texas about 30 miles outside of Fort Worth and serves grades PreK-12 with an enrollment of 1,000+ students. It opened its doors in 1983, originally in nearby Denton, before moving to its current location in 2005.
The football team competes at the D1 level in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. It has been extremely successful of late.
The program won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024 under the guidance of head coach and former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.
Witten left to take a role on the Oklahoma Sooners’ coaching staff after the 2025 campaign. Josh Martin was named his replacement in January of this year.
With Martin at the helm, the Warriors went 8-2 headlined by a spotless 6-0 mark in district play. Their losses came by a combined four points. They were the most dominant team in TAPPS D1 competition.
As a result, they earned the No. 1 seed and were expected to be the favorite to win a third title in five years. Liberty Christian will no longer have the chance.
The Warriors played an illegal player.
Senior wide receiver Jace Johnson’s eligibility status was called into question prior to the team’s first playoff game. He has been ruled ineligible. Liberty Christian will pay the price.
They have been forced to forfeit games in which he played. Their postseason bid has been taken away. The bracket will now be reshuffled, causing a one-week delay in competition.
Johnson transferred to Liberty Christian before his senior year. During the offseason, he competed for a 7-on-7 squad that was coached by a Warriors staff member.
By playing this year for Liberty Christian, he violated the “follow the coach” rule.
Per TAPPS bylaws, students who transfer to another member school are not eligible for varsity competition in a sport for a year if a coach for that certain sport at their new school either coached or trained that athlete in the previous year (includes AAU, select, club, 6-on-6, 7-on-7, individual or group instruction, skills training, fitness training, or personal training).
-USA Today
Johnson should not have been eligible this season due to his prior relationship with an assistant coach. There should’ve been a one-year buffer. Argyle Liberty Christian’s football staff failed to report it, though TAPPS believes coaches should’ve been aware of the rule.
“Athletic department leadership and football coaching staff knew or should have known of these facts prior to the start of the 2026 football season,” the association said in a statement on the ruling.
Johnson’s past should’ve been reported. It was concealed by the coaching staff, allowing the receiver to play during the regular season.
Unfortunately, that hidden intel was uncovered at the worst possible time. The discovery will now keep the program out of the postseason.