Harrisonburg Police are still trying to piece together the puzzle that is an investigation into illegal drug use and distribution among Harrisonburg High School athletes.

Part of that puzzle involves the coaches and people wonder if they knew about the alleged crimes. If they did know, people want to know why the allegations weren't reported to authorities.

According to the affidavit released Wednesday, head coach Tim Sarver first heard rumors of drug dealing on his team nearly a year ago. Sarver told police that when he confronted a player about the rumors, he denied any involvement.

In a statement, Sarver says, "If there were kids doing drugs and we knew about it, they wouldn't be playing."

On Thursday, the investigation continued as investigators met with members of the Commonwealth's Attorney's office. HPD Lt. Kurt Boshart says investigators are still interviewing people, but their main concern is for the safety of the Harrisonburg High School community.

"I'm not going to be able to go into a whole lot of detail about the investigation. It sparked this investigation, but a lot of times when we're working one investigation, it will roll into another one, and that's the case here," says Boshart.

According to the affidavit, the investigation initially began with police questioning Harrisonburg football player Alex Owah about an armed robbery he allegedly had a role in last Halloween.

That led to investigators to Ronnell Brandon, another high school football player, who was allegedly selling drugs to other players on the team in the team locker room, sometimes even before some of their games.

"Investigators are meeting with the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, discussing how the investigation's going, what we're going to need for prosecution in the future as we do with any case and we're going to continue with the investigation as far as following up on other leads we've developed, still talking to people witnesses, and also people involved," says Boshart.

Some of the coaches named in the affidavit allegedly knew about the supposed drug distribution and didn't say anything. These coaches could have violated Virginia state code by not reporting it to the school superintendent.

Boshart says it will be up to the Commonwealth's Attorney to determine if the coaches failed to follow mandated law.

"That's on a case by case basis and you have to take a look at it and see what area of responsibility these people have," says Boshart.

He also says the alleged armed robbery and the drug distribution are separate investigations.

The Harrisonburg City School Board is holding a closed meeting Thursday night to discuss student and personnel matters.

According to the affidavit, the alleged armed robbery that took place back on Halloween involved someone from Rockbridge High School. Since police are still talking to people, Boshart didn't rule out that this investigation could lead police to more suspects both inside and outside of the school.