Bob CollinsThe St. Paul Academy football season will not end with a playoff appearance.
The team, sixth seed in the six-team playoffs, has forfeited a playoff game against St. Paul’s Highland Park High School because only 14 players are still playing and officials were concerned it would have been too big of a mismatch.
That says a lot, though, about 14 kids who showed up for an 0-8 season because these were SPA’s results this season:
Concordia Academy-Roseville 34
St. Paul Academy 0
Glenwood City 52
St. Paul Academy 6
St. Paul Academy 22
St. Agnes 61
Minnehaha Academy 77
St. Paul Academy 0
St. Paul Academy 8
Providence Academy 51
St. Paul Academy 20
Blake 35
St. Paul Academy 32
Spectrum 62
Breck 77
St. Paul Academy 0
“After careful consideration, we have concluded that we cannot field a team that can compete this coming Tuesday in conditions that are safe for our players,” athletics director Peter Sawkins said in an email to parents and players. “Highland is a good team that is arguably better than most of the teams we have played this season. It would not be a good game for us, and not a good game for Highland.”
“There may be a few of you who feel we should still play, but I am confident that once you get over the emotional desire, you will understand that it would have been unwise to play on Tuesday,” Sawkins wrote in his letter, which was reported by the Pioneer Press.
From the archive: Winless and without much hope, Wrenshall girl’s basketball players still show up.
