From staff reports:

Southlake Carroll starting quarterback Daxx Garman was ruled eligibility to play this season after a 4-3 vote Friday by a UIL District 7-5A committee meeting at Justin Northwest High School.

Garman, who's eligibility was called into question after a WFAA report this week, will likely file an appeal to the UIL state executive committee.

Rose Brenner, Justin Northwest High School principal; Ric Canterbury, Saginaw High School principal; Ken Purcell, Denton ISD athletic director; and John Crawford, Coppell ISD athletic director, voted to deny Garman eligibility.

David Hinson, Keller Central High School principal; David Hadley, Keller Fossil Ridge High School principal; and Rick Westfall, Keller High School principal, voted in favor of Garman's eligibility.

Carroll has its season opener tonight at 7 p.m. against Copperas Cove.

At different points since he moved from Oklahoma and enrolled at Carroll in February, questions regarding quarterback Garman's eligibility and whether he came to the North Texas high school for athletic purposes have been raised.

This was the third time Garman's eligibility has been reviewed by an independent body, according to Carroll ISD spokesperson Julie Thannum. Twice before, the District 6-5A executive committee, with which Southlake Carroll had been previously affiliated until the beginning of this school year, had examined Garman's status. The last instance occurred April 20, when, Thannum said, the 6-5A district executive committee met after the University Interscholastic League received a complaint it requested to be investigated further. Each time he has been cleared.

Garman, a senior who is committed to play at Arizona, has faced his share of problems before. Last year, at Jones High School, Garman played in eight games before being ruled ineligible when the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association determined he had failed to file a hardship waiver upon transferring from nearby Carl Albert High School.

The latest questions surfaced when WFAA-TV began inquiring about Garman's eligibility this summer for a story that aired Tuesday. But even before then, Ozee had reached out to Cliff Odenwald, the UIL director of athletics.

"I have had several conversations with Southlake Carroll over the past few months concerning UIL rules and eligibility," Odenwald said. "Many schools call us to ask for direction."

The UIL, however, won't make a ruling on the matter unless the district executive committee can't arrive at a decision and asks the state staff to intervene. That won't be determined until Friday, when Southlake Carroll is expected to learn if its quarterback is eligible to play.