SHENANDOAH, IA — Player safety was the reason given early last week when Class 2A District 8 school Shenandoah announced the Mustangs would be forfeiting the final three games of their season.
The petition was immediately accepted by the IHSAA. Shenandoah was assessed a 17-0 loss Friday to Clarinda, a fate that will be followed this week, when the team was to have played Greene County, and again Oct. 14 when Des Moines Christian would have been the opponent.
Iowa uses BEDS numbers (students in grades 9-11 during a school year) to assign classification for the next full school year. Despite being ranked 142 with a BEDS of 240 (364 schools are listed) the Mustangs have struggled to field enough players in football to be competitive.
Injuries have further eroded the number of available players, leaving the Mustangs coaches and officials concerned for the safety of the less than 20 gridders who would be available to take the field.
Shenandoah was 2-7 overall last season and was 7-19 leading in the last three years leading to the start of the current campaign.
The Mustangs opened with a 36-24 win at Missouri Valley and a 20-7 win over Nodaway Valley before suffering a 26-0 loss at Atlantic. District play began with a short-handed Mustang squad blanked, 47-0, at Red Oak.
The topper was Sept. 23 when visiting Clarke showed little respect in a 94-0 whitewashing. Clarke led, 70-0, at intermission and yet still felt compelled to kick — and make — a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter. The Indians passed for six touchdowns in the game and returned two interceptions for scores against a Mustang squad clearly hoping to simply have the clock run out.
Participation numbers can vary wildly between schools, even among those in the same class.
Perry had well less than 30 players available for competition Friday at Bondurant-Farrar, a total which includes underclassmen without the experience or physical maturity that would allow a margin of safety on the field.
B-F had easily twice as many in uniform, and some schools that field 8-player squads can dress as large a team as the mid-40s or more as a huge percentage of the boys in the school participate.
