SoCal high school forfeits entire football season for CIF violations

Bishop Montgomery High School announced Monday that its varsity football program “has been suspended for the 2025 season and all games are forfeited.”

The private school in Torrance also parted ways with its head coach.

This comes after the CIF deemed five transfer students ineligible. The school also self-reported more violations.

Brett Steigh, a booster, claimed to have paid parents of players at

Narbonne and St. Bernard in the past, and said he had been “helping” the Bishop Montgomery program in recent months. Steigh, known as a ‘Money Man’ for some high school football programs in SoCal, revealed this information on FATTAL FACTOR, a live show on YouTube hosted by sports reporter Tarek Fattal.

After an investigation, the school administration said it had “self-reported additional violations” related to transfer students.

In August, Bishop Montgomery, which had more than 20-plus incoming football transfers for the 2025 season, had five players ruled ineligible by the CIF-SS for violating CIF Bylaw 202 and falsifying information.

On Saturday, the school announced that football coach Ed Hodgkiss, who also served as co-athletic director at the school, was fired.

An attorney representing fired Bishop Montgomery High coach Ed Hodgkiss told the LA Times the school was trying “to create a team that could compete” with powerhouses like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

Bishop Montgomery was supposed to take on Leuzinger Friday, September 5.

The CIF said they are also now reviewing the school’s self-imposed sanctions related to the football team.