Cassopolis seniors celebrated after football season ends early
CASSOPOLIS, Mich. -- The varsity football season came to an early close for Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School, with just two games left in the season.
Parents and community members were left with questions when Cassopolis Public Schools released a letter Thursday, explaining the rest of the varsity football season would be canceled and they would be hosting a senior night Friday.
Before the senior night, Cassopolis principal and district athletic director Lindsay Gorham, and head football coach Jeremiah Lee, explained the decision ultimately came down to student safety.
"Kids just aren't playing like they used to unfortunately, and we're also a small school so we have kids that are also playing a couple of sports at a time and that goes back to trying to make sure that we're keeping them healthy and having their best interest at the forefront," said Gorham.
Coach Lee explained their varsity team was mainly made up of freshman, with only 11 upperclassmen on the team. Of those juniors and seniors, seven were out on injury. With a handful of lower classmen also injured, the team was down nearly ten players.
He went on to say he had to use those younger players to fill in for the varsity team through the season, but with that many players out of the game, the school district has to come to the tough decision to end the season early, feeling it was unfair and unsafe to have a younger team face-off against more experienced rival teams.
“But just remember the kids are watching everything that’s going on, show some grace there, it’s already hard enough on them, I would say show some grace in that aspect, but we’re gonna be fine. Just got to stick with us,” said Lee.
It wasn’t just the football team that didn’t get to play the last two games, the cheerleaders and band also having to face that decision. So, although there was no football game Friday, student, parents and community members gathered at the high school, making sure those senior’s last football season, that was cut short, ended on a good note.
“I was very disappointed, I wanted to just ball up in my room and cry, but then coming today, I just feel so much better that there was a good amount of people out today,” said Caitlin Jones, a senior cheerleader.
Whiles it’s not the ending Cassopolis seniors expected, many still said the school’s decision was a good one.
“Yeah, it was heartbreaking, but it was a smart call from the coaches, the athletic directors, same with the principal. Like there’s should be no hate, nothing like that at all. It was a smart call, we’re a small team, it’s what happens when you have a small school, it happens. You don’t have the players to compete with the big kids,” said Anthony Higgins, a senior varsity football player.