Several points to address here:
~The Mentor soccer team, it's fans, and family, have my sympathy. Not that they probably care, but they do have it. They didn't do anything wrong here, and I truly feel bad for them.
~This is not Jackson's fault. A good administrator makes sure everything is done properly, administratively - that's their JOB (hence the word, 'administrator')! Jackson recognized a potential problem when Mentor played two boys that weren't on the roster from the prior game, and contacted the OHSAA, the property authority in this matter, to question if it was legit or not. Had the shoe been on the other foot, I would have EXPECTED Mentor's admin to do the same to Jackson, or I would have felt they weren't doing their job & would want them fired. In addition, how was Jackson supposed to know - for sure - that jackson might even get the forfeit win? For all they and we know, the OHSAA could have simply voided the game and declared Northview the semifinal winner. I'm pretty sure that the OHSAA has done that before, although perhaps not in soccer.
~Mentor's AD - as a good administrator - should have definitely realized that this rule might be open for different interpretations, and thus should have called the OHSAA before the game, to make sure all of his kids could play. Had he done that - this would have NEVER been a problem. I feel that he/she should definitely shoulder at least part of - if not a substantial portion of - the blame here.
~ I hate this rule. It has GOT to be clarified, and perhaps adjusted. I'm not even sure I agree with the court/OHSAA ruling that let Mentor's forfeit stand. It's still ambigous enough to be open for discussion, but alas, we don't have the luxury of time to freely discuss it right now (since the state finals are so close). Jackson may have benefitted from it this time, but we could have easily been on the receiving end (although I'm hoping our admins would be wise enough to check on it, beforehand).
~ As a Jackson fan, I am absolutely delighted in Jackson being in the state finals, and am looking forward to watching the game in person. However, I definitely feel that a lot of the excitement of it is clearly diminished. That sucks, since we are playing for our first ever team state title....bleh.