Small rosters force 2 Sacramento County schools to forfeit football games

DON’T HAVE ENOUGH ELIGIBLE PLAYERS. KCRA 3’S TISH PALAMIDESSI HAS THE STORY. TISH: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, A TRADITION FOR FITTED FOR MIRA LOMA AND MESA VERDE HIGH SCHOOLS, THEY -- BOTH IN THE SAN JUAN UNIFIED DISTRICT. >> THEY HAVE HAD SMALL TEAMS AND THEY’VE HAD SOME INJURIES, SO THEY WANTED TO SAY LET’S TAKE A STEP BACK AND MAKE SURE OUR TEAMS ARE HEALTHY AND READY TO GO SO WE CAN PLAY ALONG SEASON. TISH: AT MESA VERDE, THEY HAD SUCH A LACK OF INTEREST IN FOOTBALL THEY ILLUMINATED THEIR JV PROGRAM. ACCORDING TO THE BOARD THAT OVERSEES RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE STATE, A LACK OF INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION HAS BEEN THE TREND IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL THE PAST THREE YEARS. >> WE SAW A DECREASE IN FOOTBALL. DOWN TO 91,305 THAT HIS OFFENSE. A LITTLE OVER 3% DECREASE. TISH: ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MANY FACTORS FOR WHY KIDS ARE PLAYING LESS FOOTBALL, RISKS OF CONCUSSIONS OR OTHER INJURIES WITH THE SPORT ARE A BIG CONCERN. >> BRAIN INJURIES AND THE HITTING. I THINK PARENTS ARE WORRIED, THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT INJURIES AND THE DEMANDS THE GAME HAS ON THEIR KIDS. >> RISK OF INJURY IS ALWAYS A FACTOR IN ANY SPORT, ESPECIALLY FOOTBALL AS WELL. BUT PROPER TECHNIQUES AND CONTACT LIMITATIONS AND THE WAY THE GAME IS BEING TAUGHT, IT IS SAFER THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN. TISH: DESPITE THE DROP IN PARTICIPATION, CIF SAYS IT IS STILL THE TOP HIGH SCHOOL SPORT IN THE STATE, JUST IN SMALLER NUMBERS. >> FOOTBALL IS STILL THE NUMBER ONE SPORT IN THE STATE AND OF THE NATION. IT IS BY NO MEANS GOING AWAY. TI

Two San Juan Unified School District high schools had to forfeit football games this week due to small rosters and injuries, according to the district. Both Mira Loma High School and Mesa Verde High School canceled games. “It’s disappointing when we have to cancel a game,” said Trent Allen, with San Juan Unified School District. “It’s not something we take lightly or do very often.”Allen said both teams were dealing with injured players from previous games, so the district put safety first and made the call to forfeit. “Both these schools already have small teams, so with injuries from the last couple games, we decided, let’s take a step back and make sure the teams are ready to go so we can play a long season,” he said.The football program at Mesa Verde is so small this year, the district decided to eliminate the junior varsity program for the first time since the school was built. “The elimination of the JV program was due to a lack of interest, but will be reevaluated next year,” Allen said.High schools finding interested participants for football is something that’s been on the decline for several years, according to the California Interscholastic Federation. The CIF governs sports rules and regulations for 606 California high schools. “We saw a decrease in football since 2015,” said CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag. “It was down a little over a 3% each of the last three years.”Although there are many factors to why less kids are playing football, including moving toward other sports, risk of concussion and other debilitating injuries associated with football are a big concern. “I worry about brain injuries and the hitting,” said Ana Reilly, a Mira Loma parent. “Between the injuries and the demand the game has on the kiddos, I think a lot of parents are concerned.”Despite the worry about concussion and injury, CIF said high school football is the most regulated and safest it’s ever been. “Risk of injury is always a factor, especially in football,” Brutlag said. “But with all the new rules regarding practice time, helmets, tackling and teaching of proper technique, high school football is the safest it’s ever been.”Even with the participation decrease in high school football, CIF said it’s still the No. 1 played high school sport, just in smaller numbers.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —

Two San Juan Unified School District high schools had to forfeit football games this week due to small rosters and injuries, according to the district.

Both Mira Loma High School and Mesa Verde High School canceled games.

“It’s disappointing when we have to cancel a game,” said Trent Allen, with San Juan Unified School District. “It’s not something we take lightly or do very often.”

Allen said both teams were dealing with injured players from previous games, so the district put safety first and made the call to forfeit.

“Both these schools already have small teams, so with injuries from the last couple games, we decided, let’s take a step back and make sure the teams are ready to go so we can play a long season,” he said.

The football program at Mesa Verde is so small this year, the district decided to eliminate the junior varsity program for the first time since the school was built.

“The elimination of the JV program was due to a lack of interest, but will be reevaluated next year,” Allen said.

High schools finding interested participants for football is something that’s been on the decline for several years, according to the California Interscholastic Federation. The CIF governs sports rules and regulations for 606 California high schools.

“We saw a decrease in football since 2015,” said CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag. “It was down a little over a 3% each of the last three years.”

Although there are many factors to why less kids are playing football, including moving toward other sports, risk of concussion and other debilitating injuries associated with football are a big concern.

“I worry about brain injuries and the hitting,” said Ana Reilly, a Mira Loma parent. “Between the injuries and the demand the game has on the kiddos, I think a lot of parents are concerned.”

Despite the worry about concussion and injury, CIF said high school football is the most regulated and safest it’s ever been.

“Risk of injury is always a factor, especially in football,” Brutlag said. “But with all the new rules regarding practice time, helmets, tackling and teaching of proper technique, high school football is the safest it’s ever been.”

Even with the participation decrease in high school football, CIF said it’s still the No. 1 played high school sport, just in smaller numbers.

Small rosters force 2 Sacramento County schools to forfeit football games

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