Seven Iowa high schools have canceled or paused their varsity football seasons this fall, including the defending eight-player state champion.
According to the Iowa High School Athletic Association, Lone Tree, Rockford and Dunkerton all canceled their seasons before playing a game, while Siouxland Christian forfeited the season after one game.
Remsen-St. Mary's, which won the 2024 eight-player title, Highland (Riverside) and Mormon Trail have all paused their seasons and may resume play later this fall.
All of those teams play in the eight-player classification except for Highland, which plays in Class A — Iowa's class for the smallest schools that play 11-player football.
Most schools cite low participation numbers and safety concerns for the cancellations.
Siouxland Christian
Siouxland Christian, which only had 16 players on its roster, trailed 60-0 at halftime of its first game before forfeiting the game — and the season.
Siouxland Superintendent Nic Scandrett released this statement: “The health and well-being of our student-athletes remain our highest priority, leading us to conclude that canceling the season is the most responsible course of action. We commend the dedication, hard work, and resilience of our student-athletes, who have shown tremendous commitment to the team. We are grateful for the support of our community and are focused on strengthening our football program for future success.”
The Eagles went 1-8 in each of the last two seasons, according to records on gobound.com.
Remsen-St. Mary's
Remsen-St. Mary's, meanwhile, went 13-0 last season and dominated Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the eight-player title game to win 51-12. The Hawks also won the championship in 2022.
After graduating 10 seniors, the team entered this season with a 17-player roster, with just three upperclassmen (one senior and two juniors). The Hawks lost their first two games of the season and suffered several injuries before forfeiting Sept. 12's game against Fort Dodge St. Edmond.
They have also forfeited Sept. 19's game against Kingsley-Pierson.
Remsen-St. Mary's coach Tim Osterman told the Sioux City Journal, "The numbers on our team are down to 11 bodies and four or five of those are freshmen."
He hopes a couple of weeks off will be enough time for players to recover and for the team to return to the field, telling the newspaper, "We will reassess on Monday (Sept. 22) to see where we are at roster-wise."
Highland (Riverside)
Highland coach Cory Quail resigned last week in an effort to force school leaders to cancel the season. Highland started the year with 21 players on its roster, but after dropping its first two games, it had only 13 healthy enough to play.
“I tendered my resignation with hope that it would force the decision to not play another football game this season for player protection,” Quail posted on Facebook. “Participation numbers are low and injuries have accrued. It was not safe to be out on that field last Friday night and anyone who saw us trying to put receivers in lineman jerseys would agree. That scenario will not change over the course of this year. I will not put our kids in an unsafe place to selfishly build ego for competition."
According to a report from the Southeast Iowa Union, the team could return to action Sept. 26 at Danville.