Shady Side Academy (Pa.) announced in an official statement Wednesday afternoon that they would be forfeiting Friday’s contest against Clairton (Pa.) due to an “extraordinary rash of significant injuries across the roster.”
The Bulldogs (2-0) are coming off a 56-26 victory over Burrell last week and opened the season with a narrow, 28-26 win over Greensburg Central Catholic. According to the Massey Ratings, Clairton was projected to win 48-12 over Shady Side Academy.
“Our players have battled through injuries and adversity with heart and resilience, and their 2-0 start speaks volumes about their character,” Shady Side Academy head coach Andrew Geisler said in the official statement by the team. “But nothing is more important than their safety. This is a temporary setback, not a reflection of what this team can accomplish together this season.”
Shady Side Academy is coming off a disappointing 2-8 campaign in 2024, which the Bulldogs lost to Bears in a 50-0 rout. Clairton went 13-1 a season ago and reached the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 1A state quarterfinals before losing to state semifinalist Fort Cherry, 21-20.
According to the WPIAL Insider on social media, Clairton has issued an open challenge to any program in need of a game this Friday night as the Bears have 25 players readily available to play in the contest. The Bears are off to a 1-1 start, losing the home opener to Imani Christian Academy before blowing out Serra Catholic, 79-0.
Serra Catholic head coach Akeeme Robinson chimed in on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his team played last week with just 14 players, eight starters missing the game.
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