Shorthanded Springdale, Perry forced to cancel Week Zero games; Burrell, Avonworth to play

By: Michael Love
Monday, August 19, 2024 | 4:36 PM

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With the high school football season set to commence Friday night, there’s been a couple changes to the schedule in Western Pennsylvania after two teams were left too shorthanded to play.

Both Springdale and Perry Traditional Academy will not play their Week Zero games Friday.

Because of low numbers before preseason practices began and injuries suffered last week and in Saturday’s scrimmage, the Springdale coaches, principals and athletic administration agreed Sunday night that it would be in the best interest of the program to not play at Burrell this week.

Burrell now will play Avonworth at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Buccaneer Stadium.

“It was a really tough decision,” Springdale coach Chad Walsh said. “I’ve been doing this (coaching) for 30 years, and I never thought I would be in a situation like this. We only had so many to begin with. We were down to about 20 going into last week, and two of those kids are strictly kickers.

“We have that situation where we have four kids out, and we aren’t going to get them back for another week. That would give us just 14 or 15 healthy kids coming into this game. And some of them were new and just weren’t ready to play. We have a pretty young team with just four seniors and two of them being the kickers. It came down to weighing the pros and the cons and thinking about the safety of the kids we have.”

Perry, which plays in the City League, was in a similar situation as Springdale and wasn’t able to field enough healthy players for a Week Zero game against Avonworth.

Perry coach Stephen Hale said he expects to have more players healthy and available to play at Uniontown on Aug. 30. The Commodores are battling a few injuries, he said, and waiting for some players to get their physicals.

Walsh said he had talked with Burrell coach Shawn Liotta a couple of weeks ago and let him know something like this could happen.

“At that point, we hadn’t put the pads on,” he said. “You don’t know how kids are going to react once the pads are on. There are kids who have never played a down of football. We only had two varsity returners coming back.

“We had to go into the scrimmage Saturday hoping to just get out of there healthy. You don’t want to have to go in coaching like that. You want to go in and get prepared for the week. We thought that if we go into the game (with Burrell) and can’t finish, it would put us in even a worse situation as we’re trying to build the program and keep kids interested.”

Walsh said he hopes to get the injured players back next week so they can play their scheduled nonconference game against Chartiers-Houston.

“If everything works out, we’re going to pull back four kids next week which puts us back to around 18. We’re looking to be prepared and ready for that one,” Walsh said.

Walsh said practices for this week, at least, will be in shoulder pads and helmets.

“With the number of kids, we’ve had coaches holding bags and playing tailback to help them get through a practice,” he said.

Burrell, which scrimmaged Leechburg on Saturday, now turns its attention to an Avonworth team that played for a WPIAL championship in Class 3A each of the past two seasons.

“We didn’t want to sit back and take a forfeit. We want to go compete,” Liotta said. “We have the opportunity to play one of the best football teams in the WPIAL, so we’re taking that to help get our players better. I am thankful to our (athletic director) Brian Ferra for being able to make that connection with Avonworth.”

Liotta said he’s grateful Avonworth agreed to come to Burrell and play the game.

“We’re not afraid to play anybody and never have been,” he said. “We have a very young football team, so believe me, we know that it is going to be a big, big challenge. I expect them to again be an excellent team in Class 3A football.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Avonworth, Burrell, Perry, Springdale