DEFOREST, Wis. (WMTV) – Deforest Area High School is looking for a new opponent for next week’s varsity football game.
This came after the Reedsburg School District canceled the first two games of the season due to an ongoing investigation.
Reedsburg Area High School announced game cancellations involving Deforest and River Valley schools. Officials said nothing further could be disclosed on the matter due to confidentiality concerns with students.
The DeForest Area School District athletic department said the main focus is on the players.
“It is more likely that we will not find anything,” said Richard Henert.
Henert said they hope to find an opponent in the short term.
“It’s incredible what’s out there,” he said. “We have a school in the Illinois and Chicago area that has reached out.”
If next Friday’s game is cancelled, the most important part of the season will not be affected.
“Since it’s a week two game, it doesn’t have a direct impact on the playoffs,” Henert said. “It might have a small impact on our ranking. The playoffs are still in a good position here.”
One bright spot is that younger athletes still get a chance to participate.
“I think the good news is that we still have JV and JV2 games this week. That means a lot of our younger kids will be able to move forward with their development plans,” Henert said.
Henert said athletes on both sides can learn from this experience.
“We certainly have compassion for Reedsburg and everything they’re dealing with and respect the decisions they’ve had to make. They were certainly very tough,” he said.
15 News has reached out to the Reedsburg School District and they said they do not conduct on-camera interviews. The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office told 15 News the incident is still under investigation.
Reedsburg has also canceled its away game against River Valley on Friday night. River Valley activities director Jaime Hegland calls this an unfortunate situation that is out of their control.
Hegland added that they are disappointed that the student-athletes are missing out on an opportunity to compete. The school tried to find another team but was unable to find a new opponent on such short notice. Instead, the team will meet up to watch another game.
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