Jericho forfeits first football game but expects to play next game
Representatives of the Jericho football team pose for a photo at the Nassau Football Media Day on August 19, 2026. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The Jericho varsity football team forfeited its season opener at New Hyde Park on Wednesday night because of a lack of players cleared for full contact, but the Jayhawks are expected to play their next game against Roosevelt on Sept. 18, coach Brendan Lahti said.
New York State Public High School Athletic Association rules state that a student needs to participate in 10 days of practice before being cleared to play in a scrimmage or game.
Lahti said some players recently returned home from overseas trips, missed camp and are working toward meeting the eligibility requirement.
“We weren’t going to have enough varsity-ready players by game time,” Lahti said. “I called [New Hyde Park coach] Colin Maier a little more than a week ago and we had a conversation and I told him that we couldn’t play.”
With 32 players on the Jayhawks’ roster, Lahti said they will be ready to go for Roosevelt.
“We have full intentions of playing against Roosevelt,” Lahti said. “We’re working on our game plan and had a full practice today.”
Jericho went 4-4 in Nassau Conference II and 4-5 overall last year, the Jayhawks’ best record since 2006. Lahti noted a significant decrease in players from last year, when the program had more than 50 athletes between its varsity and JV teams. Jericho does not have a JV team this year.
“Jericho couldn’t get enough players cleared and had to forfeit the first game,” said Pat Pizzarelli, the executive director for Section VIII, which governs all Nassau school sports. “That’s not what we want. They obviously had players away late in the summer at camps and overseas and couldn’t field a team. Let’s hope they’re fine moving forward. However, there was a positive here. Jericho had the courtesy to give New Hyde Park enough time to find an opponent to fill in for this week.”
New Hyde Park traveled to Center Moriches on Thursday for a non-league game, beating the Red Devils, 44-21. Center Moriches originally was set to face Port Jefferson on Sept. 4 before it was announced that the Royals would not field a team this fall.
“When [Lahti] called me, I immediately wanted to get the kids another game,” Maier said. “They have an eight-game regular season, many of them seniors. I wanted to fill the void, and I just looked at who had lost games. I knew about Port Jefferson, and their first opponent was Center Moriches.”
Maier said he and Center Moriches coach Matt Millheiser agreed on Sept. 2 to play a non-league game, so New Hyde Park made the roughly 55-mile trek.
“Center Moriches is a ride, but it’s a game,” Maier said. “I didn’t want my kids to miss out on an opportunity to play a game.”
Smaller football programs are struggling with roster decline, and Maier was understanding of Jericho’s situation when Lahti reached out to him.
“We’re in changing times here,” Maier said. “Hopefully all the teams are secure this year, but JV numbers are low in many places. Maybe now that school has started, all the schools struggling with numbers can get more players.”
