Dec 27, 2013 2 min read

For fans of several Class A football programs, having a schedule handy didn’t always help in determining who or when their favorite team was playing this fall.

Seven local teams had their schedules altered, either in August or after the season began, because of an opponent dropping its program or lacking enough healthy players to field a team.

When Imani Christian informed the WPIAL in mid-August that it would forfeit all its games, citing a lack of players, opponents in the Black Hills Conference had to scramble to fill the open date on their schedule. Finding an opponent on short notice wasn’t easy, but Fort Cherry (Brockway), Chartiers-Houston (Conemaugh Township) and Monessen (Mountain Ridge, Md.) each managed to find an opponent and come away with a victory. California didn’t find an opponent and played only eight games.

Beth-Center and Jefferson-Morgan, both of the Tri-County South Conference, also played only eight regular-season games, the result of Geibel Catholic forfeiting because of a lack of players. Geibel lost its season opener to Frazier, 81-0, then forfeited to Beth-Center the following week. It was the second year in a row Geibel forfeited to B-C.

After playing five weeks in a row, Geibel forfeited its final two games, to West Greene and Jefferson-Morgan. Geibel was supposed to be West Greene’s homecoming opponent, and a mere two days before the game was to be played officials at the Fayette County school informed the Pioneers that it would not be playing. West Greene athletic director Bill Simms made the save of the year, scheduling a replacement game against North Star on short notice, assuring the Pioneers would indeed have a homecoming.