Rhode Island high school football team forfeits rest of season due to lack of healthy players

The forfeiture bug has reached the New England region of the country as a Rhode Island high school football team that started off with 25 players, now has decided to shut the program down for 2025.

According to an announcement on Facebook by Tiverton Public Schools’ Superintendent of Schools Christopher Haskins, Tiverton (R.I.) (0-3) football program is forfeiting the remaining six games on their varsity schedule due to a lack of healthy players.

In Haskins’ announcement, he detailed that Tiverton’s roster lists 25 players, that number has whittled down to 12. Further explanation by Haskins on canceling the rest of the season revealed that 16 of the 25 players were either freshman or sophomores, with several sidelined due to injuries, forcing the school to make the difficult decision to forfeit the rest of their games.

The Tigers opened the Rhode Island high school football season with a 49-0 loss to Hope Arts School, but forfeited last week’s contest to Scituate. Haskins is hopeful the program can regroup in time for the annual Thanksgiving game against Rogers on Nov. 27.

Here is the announcement by Haskins in its entirety:

Dear Families:

After extensive discussion with our coaching staff and athletic department, Tiverton High School has made the difficult but necessary decision to forfeit the remainder of the varsity football season. This decision stems from a combination of low player participation and a significant number of injuries that have left us unable to safely field a competitive varsity team.

Our top priority has always been the safety and well-being of our student-athletes. In Week 2, we faced a difficult situation with only 12 players available, forcing us to make the tough decision to forfeit that week’s game. Since then, we’ve taken a hard but necessary look at what is realistic for the remainder of the season. While our current roster lists 25 players, several are sidelined due to injury, and 16 of our athletes are freshmen and sophomores. Given these circumstances, continuing to compete at the varsity level would not be responsible or safe at this time.

We understand the impact this has on our student-athletes, their families, and the communities of our league opponents, and we do not take this decision lightly. All remaining scheduled varsity games will be officially recorded as forfeits, and our opponents will be given the opportunity to schedule non-league games in those open weeks or play us with their JV rosters.

In an effort to rebuild and refocus our football program for the future, we are committed to continuing with a junior varsity schedule for the remainder of the season. This approach will allow our student-athletes to continue developing their skills in a safer, more appropriate competitive environment. Our coaching staff, led by Head Coach Andrew Gacioch, is already working with other schools to schedule JV games on either Fridays, Saturdays or Mondays.

We remain committed to supporting our football program and ensuring its long-term sustainability. We look forward to returning to varsity competition in the 2026 season with a stronger, healthier roster.

We appreciate the understanding and support of our community, athletes, and fellow schools during this time.

Sincerely,

Christopher Haskins, Superintendent of Schools

Per a NBC 10 News report, Tiverton head coach Andy Gacioch stated that the program has entertained the idea of co-op with another school in hopes of fielding a team in 2026.

“I want to see my program playing on Friday night’s a year from today,” Gacioch said via the report. “We’ve tossed the co op idea out there, maybe the next step is to co-op with someone else.”

The Tigers have been steady when it comes to success in Rhode Island high school football as the program has won 11 games in the previous three seasons (2022-24).

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