Folsom High forced to cancel homecoming football game after Davis Senior High forfeits
FOLSOM – It was homecoming heartbreak for seniors at Folsom High School, trying to enjoy Wednesday's homecoming parade, knowing Friday's football game is canceled.
"It's a little crumby for the kids, for the seniors unfortunately they won't have the same feeling," says concerned parent, Jaime Alvarez.
"It's really disappointing for the kids who have played football all four years, cheered all four years—not getting to have that experience," Folsom football fan Faun Oneel said.
Davis Senior High School told Folsom officials last week that the decision wasn't an easy one to make but because of a low roster count and a number of injuries, canceling was the only way to protect the safety of players.
"They probably should have notified us in enough advance that we could have come up with an alternate plan, maybe even moved homecoming to a different game," Oneel said.
The show of support for the parade was strong, but many people were sad about the other hallmark homecoming traditions that won't be the same this year. Instead of the homecoming court walking families across the field for the game, they were announced during the parade.
"These kids voted as princes and princesses won't get to walk with their families across the field," said Cindy Shirk, a local fan.
"They look forward to it every year, just like I did when I was in high school. It's really disappointing," Jaime Alvarez said.
The cancellation is impacting more than just the football team, but other high school seniors looking to cap their career before college with the milestone game. Associate Head Coach Jordan Banning said he can't think of another time when something like this has happened.
"I went to Folsom High School; I've been coaching since 2002. It's the first time I can remember us not having a homecoming game or a team even forfeiting a regular season game," Banning said. "Luckily the kids are positive, they are used to adversity, they are used to being on the road playing tough teams. So they've been pretty positive about it."
The team is still hoping for a hail mary to save their game. They are scrambling to find someone to play in place of Davis but so far, haven't found a team that hasn't already committed to the 10-game schedule which is the cap for high school teams.
According to their school website, Folsom is still hosting their homecoming dance Saturday at 7 p.m.
Folsom's record is not impacted by the forfeiture. It will be recorded as a win for the season. They were the favorites in Friday's upcoming game.
