The Dalles football head coach Marc Schilling talks to his team during a huddle earlier this season. The Riverhawks will not play their final two contests due to lack of eligible players.
The Dalles football head coach Marc Schilling talks to his team during a huddle earlier this season. The Riverhawks will not play their final two contests due to lack of eligible players.
The Dalles High School Athletic Department decided Oct. 19 to cancel the remaining two games of the Riverhawks’ varsity football schedule.
The Riverhawks (0-5 Special District 5, 1-7 overall) were scheduled to play the Madras High White Buffaloes (1-3 SD5, 4-4 overall) Oct. 21 at Madras High School, but forfeited the game. In addition, The Dalles will also forfeit the Oct. 28 home game that was scheduled against La Grande High School. The Dalles will play the remaining two games on the junior varsity schedule.
Injuries and losing players who were ineligible because of grades left The Dalles without enough players on its roster to field a competitive team, Coach Marc Schilling said.
The Riverhawks played their final game Oct. 14 at home — a 49-12 loss to the Pendleton High Buckaroos (3-0 SD5, 6-1 overall). The game was the final one for six Riverhawk seniors (Joshua Taylor, Marquies Sagapolutele, Riley Brock, Manatu Crichton-Tunai, Evan Baldy, and Lizandro Garcia Rocha).
“It was one of most difficult decisions that I’ve ever had to make as far as sports goes and it’s pretty darn tough to just kill the program and close it out like that,” said Schilling. “After looking at the squad and seeing how many guys were injured, along with guys we lost because of grades, we were looking at the possibility of having a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the starting lineup, which would not be a safe and healthy atmosphere.
“The kids are trying to emotionally process this, and they understand the situation, but they’re not happy about it. I think they’re more disappointed about it than anything else.”
Under normal circumstances, The Dalles would’ve had a special Senior Night ceremony to honor the seniors at the final home game. There is a possibility of the team hosting a different type of event soon to honor the seniors.
“The seniors did not get the opportunity to close out on their terms and that’s the hardest thing for them, because they didn’t get to prepare for their last night of football,” said Schilling. “We’re working on a way to figure how to wrap things up and honor the seniors.”
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