Imagine, for one second, a “clerical error” prevented Jared Turcotte from taking the field this year for Lewiston High School. Now cover your ears with your hands – that’s to defend your hearing against the howls of protest.

There wouldn’t have been a Fitzpatrick Trophy. There, perhaps, wouldn’t have been a scholarship to University of Maine. There certainly wouldn’t have been the appreciation of Turcotte’s amazing story of sharpening his physical skills for the gridiron, while honing his medical school aspirations through working in a mortuary.

If Lewiston had lost his presence for something as minor as omitting his name from a list, it would have elicited a storm of controversy because Turcotte deserves every accolade he’s received. He’s a great kid, with a bright future, and his story should inspire every Pee-Wee player in Maine who’s strapping on that first helmet.

Then there’s Tyler Clark. In his sports – track and wrestling – and his character, the Lisbon High School student is likely Turcotte’s equal. Our sportswriters have described him as “indefatigable” and a “winner.” Clark’s coaches speak about him glowingly, for his heart, dedication and competitiveness.

“For Tyler, whether it’s a practice or a meet, it’s a daily exercise in excellence,” his cross country coach, Hank Fuller, told the Sun Journal last November. “He expects it of himself.”

Yet Clark is now the victim of the fearsome “clerical error.” His name was omitted from the roster of Lisbon and Lewiston high school’s co-operative indoor track team, and the Maine Principals’ Association ruled him ineligible. The MPA denied an appeal of Clark’s case on Jan. 31.

Barring Clark from competing runs counter to common sense. His ineligibility is based on the kind of errors made every day in offices, schools and, yes, newspapers. When the Sun Journal makes an error, we can run a correction. Clark’s penalty is much more severe.

On the same day, the MPA denied an appeal by Jay High School regarding the forfeit of three girls’ basketball games because the team used an “ineligible player.” The player in question had reduced her school schedule from full to part-time, for personal reasons, yet the school thought it appropriate to allow her to continue in athletics.

The MPA disagreed.

Its rulings beg for reconsideration, because Clark must sit idle, while his teammates compete. And because the successful girls’ team in Jay must suffer for a minor indiscretion, made – according to Jay High School officials – with the student’s best interest at heart.

We wish the MPA had thought, and acted, in the same way.