Jericho can't fill roster, cancels season
Due to a lack of participants, Jericho will not field a varsity football team this season. All Conference II teams with Jericho on their schedule will receive a forfeit that week.
John Mankowich, the school's Athletic Director, said Jericho will field a junior varsity team this season and that 11th graders with no prior football experience are eligible to play. He expects the varsity to return next season.
"We didn't want to go the route of forcing 10th graders into a situation they weren't ready for," he said about not having a team this season.
Herricks, a member of Conference I, agreed to take Jericho players on its roster, and four - senior linemen Jimmy Sheridan and Franklin Rodriguez, senior running back/linebacker Jordan Brett and junior wide receiver/defensive back Sean D'Costa - accepted the invitation.
According to second-year Herricks coach Mike Yoo, teams in Jericho's situation generally partner with larger schools because the welcoming program must absorb the other school's enrollment figure in its own.
Herricks and Jericho are approximately nine miles apart and Jericho High School doesn't let out until 3:30 p.m., but Yoo said practice schedules shouldn't be an issue for the four players.
Herricks opens its season Tuesday at Plainview JFK.
