SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — The organization that governs high school sports in California said Thursday that four Northern California schools are facing sanctions after they played football as the state faced strict restrictions brought on by the pandemic.

The California Interscholastic Federation Sac-Joaquin Section said the Sacramento-area football programs for Capital Christian High School, Ripon Christian High School, Stone Ridge Christian High School and Vacaville Christian High School have been placed on probation for the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

“We expect all of our schools to follow the rules and we attempted to be as proactive as possible in getting that message out but unfortunately there were a few schools who ignored the rules and my guidance,” said CIF-SJS Commissioner Michael Garrison.

CIF’s announcement said the football programs from the four high schools participated in activities during February and March of this year, which violated state guidelines. According to Garrison, the teams “elected to participate in football contests while wearing school uniforms, using school equipment and school facilities under the supervision of team coaches.”

The athletic programs at Capital Christian, Ripon Christian and Stone Ridge Christian high schools will also be placed on probation for the 2021-22 school year. Their football programs will also not be allowed to participate in post-season play in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.

Back in February, dozens of student-athletes went to the State Capitol to demand they be allowed to return to play competitive sports after practice and games had been pushed back. They joined the Let Them Play CA grassroots advocacy group to deliver boxes of letters to the governor and other lawmakers urging them to ease guidelines.