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Another Iowa high school football program chooses to forfeit 2025 season

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by: Keegan Pope09/25/25bykeeganpope
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(via New London Athletics/Facebook)

For the fifth time this season, an Iowa high school football program has opted to forfeit the rest of its games, citing low participation numbers within the program.

New London, a small school in the southeast corner of the state, is the latest school to make the choice to forfeit games this season in Iowa.

Siouxland Christian, Lone Tree, Rockford and Dunkerton have all done the same either before the year kicked off or over the past four weeks. Three other schools, including defending eight-player state champion Remsen St. Mary’s, Highland and Mormon Trail, have all paused playing games this season. 

Interestingly enough, one of New London’s two victories this season came when Highland opted to forfeit the game between the two. After that however, they lost to Pekin a week later, 68-20 and fell to Wapello last Friday night, 20-12. 

The Tigers’ roster reportedly only features 16 players, with seven of them being seniors. For that group it will be an unfortunate end to their high school careers.

Within the past decade though, New London was one of the top small-school teams in the state. The Tigers won a state title in 2018, but with declining numbers in the program, they will now have to evaluate the future of football at the school.

This season was the program’s first after jumping from 8-man to 11-man football. In making the move up, New London head coach Dominick Loyd told the Southeast Iowa Union that the Tigers were expecting around 25 players, but several opted not to play by the start of the season. 

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