Students React As Springfield Township HS Benches Varsity Football For The Season
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- A Montgomery County high school is putting its varsity football team on the bench this season.
Springfield Township's Spartans played their first and last game of the season Friday, a 47-20 loss to Octorara.
The team started with just 32 players at the beginning of camp. It's about half of what many suburban high schools in the area typically have. Injuries brought the squad down to just 18.
With a small and young varsity football squad to begin with and several key players with season-ending injuries, STHS Athletic Director Jason Pane decided it was best to cancel the Spartans' season after playing just one game.
"The whole decision was very tough," Pane said. "But when you boil it down, you take the emotion out of it. Am I potentially putting kids at risk? And when the answer to that became yes, it made it a little clearer. Didn't make it easier."
Sophomore football player Max Perri said the news, delivered to the team and coaches Monday, came as a shock.
"I was devastated at first, I couldn't really put my mind around what just happened," Perri said. "I was hoping to play a lot this year get a lot of time. I just felt really bad."
The seniors are definitely taking it the hardest.
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"It's just crazy to think about," said Carly Munger, a senior. "You always go to our homecoming games, tailgates and everything for the football team and this is the first year that we're not going to have it, so it's insane."
"It's one less thing for our Spartan pride," said Alyssa LoRusso, also a senior. "It was just a big cornerstone for our Spartan pride and it's kind of gone now for our last year."
Pane said the junior varsity squad will play this season and train hard to emerge bigger and stronger for the future.
"The most important piece is that we get past all of the front-end emotion," Pane said. "And what are we going to put in place, so that this young group grows and brings Friday nights back to our stadium."
The school is in the process of coming up with ways to continue with pep rallies and bringing the community together on Friday nights, by possibly involving other school sports.
