Jenkintown High School suspends football season due to lack of participation

JENKINTOWN, Pa. - Jenkintown High School says a lack of participation forced the school to cancel its football season just two games into the season.

Why did Jenkintown High School cancel its football season?

What we know:

In a letter to the school community, Principal Thomas Roller and Athletic Director Aubrie Breisblatt said, "continuing competition for the remainder of the season would not be in the best interest of our student-athletes, particularly from a safety standpoint."

Superintendent Brea D’Angelo said the move came after head coach Joe Cawley voiced serious concerns about continuing play under current conditions.

The football program, they said, struggled to fill its roster and maintain consistent player participation, despite the coaching staff's best efforts to recruit student-athletes. This forced the school to forfeit games just weeks into the season.

"Continuing to compete under these circumstances would place significant physical demands on a limited number of players," school leaders wrote. "Given the nature of the sport, we believe it is important to respect and support the coach's determination and keep student safety at the forefront."

Jenkintown High School lost the first two games of the season, failing to score in both contests. They were scheduled to play Lower Moreland on Friday night.

What they're saying:

"As we started the season, we saw less numbers coming to practice, but we really gave it a go and then when the coach came to us and just said like I am at the point where I am very concerned for the safety of our citizens. As a superintendent and the administration, we really decided like what are we doing here this is best for our kids," said D’Angelo. 

"Going into this season we kind of knew. We thought maybe we could really pull this off, but at a certain point you're like this is not good," said head coach Joe Cawley.

"Talk to the whole kind of season so far that it was gonna be shut down, and we had injuries, and it was kind of expected. I guess the biggest shock is like no homecoming," said Beckett Wehagen, a senior at Jenkintown High School.

Zach Pacuraru, a 2022 graduate, said football is a core part of Jenkintown’s community identity. "When you're in such a small community like this like it's really rooted into the culture of the town I mean the fact that we have a stadium alone is like just pretty remarkable and I just like when I when I joined high school like I didn't even picture myself as a football player and then lo and behold I was recruited and it's you one of my favorite memories now you know."

Pacuraru also described optimism for a future return, saying, "back the grade is coming into high school are growing iron size so I wouldn't be surprised if it does come back I think that it's been a pretty big part of the Germantown community and definitely brought families closer."

Will Jenkintown's football program return?

What's next:

Officials have not made a final decision on the future of the school's football program.

"The District will continue to evaluate the future of the football program and work with our coaching staff and athletic staff to determine a sustainable path forward that prioritizes student safety and meaningful athletic opportunities," the school wrote.

While the Jenkintown Drakes won't be taking the field again this year, the school says coaches will continue to work with students who "remain committed to the program" through practices, skill development, strength and conditioning, and more.

"We recognize that this is disappointing for our student-athletes, families, coaches, and community," officials said. "We are especially appreciative to the players who continued to show up, work hard, and represent Jenkintown throughout a challenging season."

What we don't know:

It is not yet clear when or if Jenkintown High School’s varsity football team will return to full competition.

Montgomery CountySportsNews