A season without a team
Port Jefferson High School will not field a varsity football team this fall, marking the first time in more than a century that the program will be absent from the schedule.
Only eleven students met the eligibility criteria for the weight‑training and conditioning program, far short of the sixteen players the state requires for a varsity roster.
The shortfall forced the school to forfeit eight of its planned games, a blow that also extinguishes the celebration of the program’s hundredth anniversary, a milestone that had been woven into the district’s fall festivities.
Adam Sherrard, who served as director of athletics until January, warned the sectional office that the program was at risk, but the district did not act on the recommendation to merge with a neighboring school before the deadline.
Efforts to combine forces with Rocky Point High School have been explored, yet the merger was not finalized in time to meet the state’s player threshold, leaving the district to confront the season without a team.
The cancellation follows similar moves by Holy Trinity High School, which suspended its football program in July, and Southampton High School, which called off its varsity squad days before the season was set to begin.
Community members and alumni have expressed disappointment, noting that the absence of a team not only impacts athletes but also erodes a long‑standing tradition that has shaped local identity for generations.