CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The West Charlotte High football coach and one of his assistants resigned Tuesday, as district leaders prepare to conclude an investigation into the use of a false address by an ineligible player.

Head coach Maurice Flowers and assistant coach Hazel Richardson's resignations will take effect Feb. 29, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokeswoman Nora Carr. She declined to say why they resigned, saying personnel information is confidential.

Both coaches have been suspended with pay since Dec. 3, along with West Charlotte athletics director Masanori Toguchi. That's when a Charlotte attorney began investigating why the ineligible player, Nicholas Mata, listed an address that belonged to the athletics director's in-laws.

Flowers and Richardson will remain suspended with pay until they leave CMS. It's unclear whether West Charlotte will have to forfeit any of its 13 victories in a season that ended in the state semifinals.

That decision will come after CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman determines what to do with the recommendations he received last week from the attorney, Landis Wade, who handled the investigation.

Toguchi, the school's athletics director, remains suspended with pay. He apparently never told CMS that his wife's grandmother owned the home that Mata listed as his address. Mata did not live there, the Observer learned.

The senior wide receiver had played his junior year for Flowers at Olympic High before both moved to West Charlotte prior to the 2007 season.

Flowers, 38, coached at West Charlotte for one year. He led the Lions to a 13-2 record and a N.C. 4AA semifinal appearance. Reached Tuesday, Flowers declined comment. West Charlotte principal John Modest did not return phone calls.

The suspension of the West Charlotte staff stemmed from an Observer investigation that also prompted the dismissal of 10 ineligible players from their teams, the removal of three more athletes pending reviews. It also led to the forfeit of South Mecklenburg High School's entire football season.

Wade, the Charlotte attorney, launched a second investigation last week that focuses on Independence High. Last fall, seven Independence football players were ruled ineligible or removed from the team pending reviews of their eligibility to play at the school. Now, CMS will take a broader look for patterns and possible recruiting, which is prohibited in high school.

Gorman has also formed a volunteer review panel that will recommend ways to prevent athletes and their parents from using false addresses when enrolling.

New rules would likely take effect before August, in time for the 2008-09 school year.

Staff writer Ryan Basen contributed

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