High school football in the area dates back to the 19th century, when Athol and Orange met for the first time in 1894. There’s history and tradition, small towns throughout Franklin County and the North Quabbin region reserving Friday nights to support their communities on the gridiron.
The local landscape will have a different feel this fall, as high school football games won’t be played throughout the Commonwealth. The sport was categorized as “higher risk” by the EEA due to COVID-19. It was ultimately postponed from the fall calendar by the MIAA, as close contact and tackling presented too many issues for the organization to overcome.
The book wasn’t completely closed on football being played during the 2020-21 school year, as the MIAA created a “fall II” season set for Feb. 22 through April 25 that would house sports postponed from the original fall. On Tuesday, the Northeastern Conference, which includes towns like Lynn, Saugus, Swampscott and Beverly, voted to move all fall sports to the fall II season. The PVIAC, which governs sports in this area, has made no such vote, and it was expected that Franklin County schools will meet Wednesday to discuss the viability of individual sports.
Regardless of the status of other sports, no Friday night lights in Franklin County this fall comes as a disappointing blow for area football coaches and players.
“Obviously, it’s less than ideal on a lot of levels,” began Franklin Tech Athletic Director and head football coach Joe Gamache. “You want the kids to have a full complement of games and a Thanksgiving Day football game, which we’ve worked really hard to keep and maintain here. And we have a pretty talented group of seniors this year who have gotten a lot of experience at the varsity level the last four years.”
Under normal circumstances, the first conditioning practice for high school football would have been last Friday.
“I feel for the kids because they’re the ones that get hurt the most here,” Greenfield AD and head football coach Mike Kuchieski said. “But I’ve got to be a glass half full type of guy for this. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re hoping we get something for these kids this fall in terms of workouts, complying with CDC guidelines, and then put ourselves in a position to be able to play games come February.”
High school football in Franklin County has undergone extreme changes in recent years, this fall notwithstanding. Turners Falls High School, Pioneer Valley Regional School and Mohawk Trail Regional High School were scheduled to join up with Greenfield this season for a new four-school cooperative program. The Greenfield-Turners Falls Thanksgiving game was canceled last year when Turners was forced to co-op with Mohawk Trail. Numbers throughout the region have gone down in the sport.
“It’s something I don’t want to ever go through again,” explained Kuchieski. “It’s been tough trying to keep a level head here, through no Turkey Day and on into this fall. But we have to remember the big picture and not the selfish picture. We’re doing what’s right for the program and the community, and hopefully giving ourselves a chance to play again a few months down the road. That’s all we can do for now.”
Athol High School AD Dan Bevis said he’s heard arguments from people on both sides of the football debate, but ultimately, the decisions that came down are meant to do what’s best for student-athletes across the state. Still, the departure of fall football is going to be a bit surreal, he said.
“Not having those Friday night games, you feel the most disappointment for the kids,” Bevis explained. “The kids are ultimately the ones missing out. They don’t get a lot of this time back. Hopefully, we can continue to do the positive things as a state to open up more things and be able to have Friday night spring games. That hope is what we’re holding onto; that there’s still a chance, still a chance.”
One thing that may help football players stay connected to the sport came out of an MIAA meeting last week. The organization approved a measure that would allow out of season coaches to work with their players, as long as they receive permission from their school’s principal. That would mean beginning Sept. 18, football coaches could still aid in small-group workouts and other drills, allowing players to remain in some sort of guided routine.
“We can still do forms of conditioning and specific skill drills,” Gamache said. “That gives us some flexibility. At our school, we’ll offer some opportunities for our kids to work on specific skill set and we’ll be there to help them through that process, which will be kind of nice.”
Kuchieski said that players in his program have already been in touch with each other, even reaching out to student-athletes at other schools in the new cooperative to try and set up some workouts.
“I know that’s to the kids’ credit to get everyone together,” he said. “They’re smart cookies. They know they need to get something going.”