Over the past several years in particular, high school programs across the country have canceled games - and in some cases entire seasons - because they didn't have enough players available.
Canceling because there aren't enough coaches might be a first.
Air Academy HS (Colorado Springs, CO) announced this week it will forfeit Friday night's varsity homecoming game against Lutheran HS (Parker, CO). The Kadets were scheduled to host the Lions at 7 p.m.
"Air Academy High School does not have a full coaching staff that would allow us to safely field a varsity football contest," the school said in a release.
The statement doesn't say where the coaches went, when the shortage started, or whether it will affect the rest of the schedule.
TV station KRDO13 asked Academy School District 20 all three questions. As of Wednesday night, the district had not responded.
KRDO provided additional reporting that points to a possible alternate explanation. Anonymous sources told the station the coaching staff chose to forfeit rather than expose players to potential insensitive comments regarding race, and that the team made the decision Monday. According to those sources, the district initially refused the forfeit, then met with Lutheran officials and Air Academy coaches. The team held its position because it felt Lutheran had faced no accountability for earlier incidents, and the district eventually accepted the forfeit.
None of Air Academy's varsity, JV or freshman teams will play Lutheran this week.
Those earlier incidents trace back to Lutheran's September 24th home game against Sand Creek HS (CO), also located in Colorado Springs where Sand Creek cheerleaders shared that Lutheran students made a number of insensitive comments.
Lutheran's executive director apologized to Sand Creek's principal and to District 49 Superintendent Peter Hilts. In an October 4th email to families, Lutheran said the students involved in one of the incidents did not attend the school and that security footage supported their explanation that they were chasing each other and hitting each other with belts. The school said it received no official report of inappropriate behavior by its players.
"Any form of racist language or behavior is a direct violation of those values and will not be tolerated," Lutheran said in a statement to CBS Colorado, adding it is interviewing students, staff and witnesses from both schools.
Lutheran also confirmed to KKTV it is investigating similar complaints from its game against Rampart HS (CO) after a mother of a Rampart student posted on social media that she and her daughter were the subject of racist comments from a student in Lutheran apparel. CHSAA called the initial reports "alarming" and said its process is ongoing.
Neither Lutheran nor CHSAA has announced findings or discipline.
Lutheran did not respond to KRDO's request for comment on the canceled game.
Air Academy is coached by Waymond Jackson II, hired in April 2024 to replace Scott Grinde, who had led the program since 2016. Jackson spent 2007 to 2013 on Steve Spurrier's staff at South Carolina, working with linebackers during a run that included the program's first win over a No. 1-ranked Alabama team and a trip to the 2010 SEC title game. He has also coached at the high school and Division II levels in Colorado, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, most recently as a defensive coordinator in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
If the official reason holds and the Kadets are back on the field next week, that's a curious staffing problem that solved itself awfully fast at the very least. If KRDO's reporting is accurate, a coaching staff drew a line for its kids and the district decided to write it up as a personnel issue, for whatever reason.
Either way, there's an explanation owed to the players who lost a homecoming game.
Homecoming festivities will go on Friday. The flyover, parachute arrival and Class of 1976 presentation are still scheduled, and Air Academy's flag football team will play The Classical Academy at 7pm now, in place of the varsity game. The Kadets are scheduled to return to the field Oct. 16 against Rampart.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.