Amityville becomes latest Long Island school to cancel varsity football this season
Amityville Superintendent of Schools Gina Talbert said the district will still have a junior varsity season.
More Stories
Three schools on Long Island have now canceled their varsity football seasons before the school year even began.
The latest was the Amityville School District, which announced the decision on Monday due to the number of injuries in the program.
"While we understand this news is disappointing, we must prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes," Amityville Superintendent of Schools Gina Talbert told News 12 in a statement.
The district did not disclose the nature of the injuries or what percentage of the team was hurt that forced the entire season to be cut.
The decision comes just days after the Port Jefferson School District announced it had to drop its varsity football team over a lack of players after falling below the 16-player minimum needed to field a team.
Port Jefferson school officials said they tried to reach a deal to combine teams with the Rocky Point School District, but were not able to finalize an agreement.
Port Jefferson said it went to Section XI, the governing body for Suffolk County high school athletics, regarding the proposed merger, but said Section XI denied the request, saying the move would disqualify Rocky Point from the postseason.
Section XI denied that, saying Rocky Point had declined to combine with Port Jefferson.
In July, Holy Trinity High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, abruptly ended its varsity football program after Head Coach Cain Mack suddenly resigned.
Athletic Director Matthew Sloan said the school will begin looking for a new coach with plans to start a junior varsity team next year and try again with varsity in 2028-29. The school said it will continue to offer football-specific training sessions in the weight room for students who wish to participate this fall.
