Fennville cancels rest of varsity football season
FENNVILLE — Fennville High School has canceled the rest of its varsity football season, citing injuries on the team.
“We simply do not have enough healthy players to continue supporting both a JV and varsity team this season,” Director of Athletics Wendell Hughes wrote in a letter Tuesday, Sept. 19.
The junior varsity season will continue.
Hughes said the program was able to support both JV and varsity through the first four weeks of the season despite a “small number” of players. But there were injuries to “several key players” on varsity and, to continue, the school would've been forced to pit too many freshmen and sophomores against older opponents, jeopardizing their safety.
“After evaluating the entire 9-12 roster, which consists of 84 percent freshman and sophomores, the decision was made to forego the varsity season in favor of playing out the rest of the JV schedule,” Hughes wrote.
Fennville started the season 0-4 and had five games remaining on the varsity schedule.
Three of the remaining seniors on the team will continue to practice with the JV team and act as assistant coaches during games, Hughes said. The other two will play in other varsity sports for Fennville. The juniors on the team will play JV.
Hughes said he believes there will be enough players to field a varsity team next year.
Fennville switched to eight-player football in 2021 to address dwindling participation in the sport. The Blackhawks haven't been post-season eligible since the switch because the school’s enrollment is above the MHSAA’s cap of 215 students.
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This is the second straight season a local school district ended its football season early. Holland High School, citing a roster full of freshmen and sophomores, ended its season after four games last year. The Dutch returned to the field this fall.
Hartford High School canceled its varsity program in August, saying it didn't have enough juniors and seniors.
— Sentinel reporter Mitchell Boatman contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Fennville cancels rest of varsity football season
