Knights are on the path to becoming gridiron Warriors. During a special meeting in December, the Fairfield Area School District Board of Directors voted 7-2 to develop a cooperative football agreement with Gettysburg Area School District for three years.
The Gettysburg school board must now support a similar motion before it returns to Fairfield for final adoption. Jack Liller, Theodore Sayres, Matthew DeGennaro, James Fisher, Jennifer Holz, Melissa Kearchner, and Lisa Sturges voted favorably. Erica Bollinger and Candace Ferguson-Miller opposed it.
Athletic Director Keith Bruck said in November that he and High School Principal Brian McDowell do not believe the district has enough students to support football. Enrollment has decreased annually for 20 years, Bruck said. This fall, Superintendent Thomas Haupt canceled the varsity football season because the team did not have enough players to field a team safely.
“This vote was very hard for me, very hard,” Ferguson-Miller, the board’s president, said. “I am going to vote no because that’s what my heart tells me, but I am glad these kids get the opportunity.”
The vote followed about 40 minutes of comments from citizens who, like Ferguson-Miller, were torn on the issue.
Student Wyatt Taylor said he would like to play for Fairfield, but mostly wants “the drama” to end. Taylor said players rarely discuss the next game but instead focus on whether the team can field enough players.
“The love is dying for all the football players,” he said.
John Holler, president of Fairfield Youth Football and Cheer, said he believes the cooperative agreement is best for next year’s seniors. Holler said a football roster should have 30 people on it and Fairfield has had challenges fielding the necessary 11.
Former Fairfield Football Coach Jake Johnson, who has been involved with the sport at several levels for many years, supported the cooperative agreement. He told the board that it is challenging to hold athletes accountable when they know that the team needs them to field a roster.
“Football is the only game that you can play where you are dependent on the other 10 kids on the field to be prepared to defend you,” he said.
Johnson also expressed support for Gettysburg Area High School Football Coach Matt Heiser. Johnson said Heiser will give Fairfield players equal opportunity as those who live in the Gettysburg Area School District.
“He believes in growing leaders and rewarding kids for effort,” Heiser said.
Before the vote, Superintendent Thomas Haupt told the board that it would cost $59,300 to transport Fairfield football players to Gettysburg for practices and games. Gettysburg school district will charge, pending board approval, Fairfield $872 per student. Although the coop was not a financial decision, the district will save money compared to the costs of running its own program.
Alex J. Hayes has spent almost two decades in the Adams County news business. He is passionate about sharing stories focused on the people in our communities and following local governments in an age when few journalists report on their meetings. Alex is also a freelance writer for several other publications in South Central Pennsylvania. Alex encourages readers to contact him at ahayes83@gmail.com.