According to KMOX-TV, school officials at Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School have put the football program on hiatus for low student interest and participation for 2015. The team reportedly has less than twelve players signed-up for this season.
Last year, the team had to forfeit a game, because it didn’t have enough healthy players.
School Board President Nelson Mitten called the decision — “a very difficult and emotional decision.”
The shut-down comes only four years after the school played in the 2010 Missouri Division 2 title game. From 2007-11, Maplewood-Richmond went 59-9.
KMOX-TV also reports that the Missouri State High School Activities Association has been reporting a drop in football participation numbers for the last five years. Last season 31,535 student-athletes played football compared to 33,331 in 2009.
The school board did leave the door open to reinstate the program in 2016.
