by Tyler Diedrich (13WHAM)
One of Section V’s oldest and fiercest football rivalries could be ending, as the two sides discuss a potential merger.
LeRoy and Caledonia-Mumford have been foes on the gridiron since 1900, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
The two schools, along with Byron-Bergen, which already combines with Cal-Mum to field a football team, are exploring the idea of merging.
Mike Reed, Cal-Mum’s athletic director, told 13WHAM the proposed arrangement would allow both programs to continue playing 11-man football at all levels amid declining enrollment.
“We have played 8-man football at the JV level since the fall of 2018,” Reed wrote in an email. “When the merger with Byron-Bergen began, we had numbers in the low 30s on our varsity team and JV teams. Now the numbers on varsity are in the low 20s and JV in the upper teens.”
Reed said it’s become “very challenging” to play a collision sport like football with the current numbers. He said the proposed merger would allow for healthier modified, JV and varsity squads.
“It allows players to play the position they are best suited for instead of having to change positions due to injury as the season wears on,” he wrote. “It allows for substitution and rest for the players on game day instead of having most players have to play both sides of the ball on every play. It would allow younger players to ‘play down’ and stay on the junior varsity or modified team so they can learn the skills and techniques necessary to eventually be successful at the varsity level.”
Reed said despite the storied rivalry, both programs have great respect for each other and a merger would be a natural fit.
“Our communities share a common bond and expectation surrounding the traditions for a football program,” Reed wrote. “The players and coaches in each of our programs feel that expectation from the community and this merger would allow our teams to practice and play football in a way that our communities expect.”
Details are still being worked out, but the merger would include using both sites for practices and games during the season.
Reed said the merger still needs to be approved by each school board and Section V.
A decision is expected by the end of the month.
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