Everett High School has canceled its home football game scheduled for Friday night against Stanwood, and there are differing accounts as to why.
Robert Polk, the director of athletics and activities for the Everett School District, said the “school administration didn’t want to have a game.”
“It’s a sensitive topic that we are not permitted to talk about,” he said.
Polk referred all questions to Everett High School principal Lance Balla, who didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Stanwood athletic director Tom Wilfong said “there was some discipline issue that was causing conflict” for the Seagulls.
However, Everett football coach David Coldiron said the cancellation was due to a combination of safety and scheduling logistics.
“We started looking at all the supervision stuff that goes into a home game, and I guess they weren’t prepared to have (a game) staffed or manned,” said Coldiron, who is in his first season as the Seagulls’ head coach. “I don’t know. I don’t know exactly, but that’s the way I understand it. I’ve been around this game a long time and I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“It caught us off-guard for sure, but safety and security of the crowd and the kids that are on the field of play, that’s a priority, and I understand that. (If) they couldn’t feel like they could provide that environment for us, then they needed to make the decision that they made. We will live. We still like each other, we still care about each other, we’re still Seagull teammates. That part will continue on.”
The decision was made at the administrative level and not by the football team, Coldiron said.
“I don’t want people to think that we promised to play a game and we suddenly backed out,” Coldiron said. “We practiced on Monday and we were excited about the game, but then we were told on Tuesday afternoon that the game couldn’t be played, and it has something to do with administration supervision. I’m not 100 percent certain of what it is, but the coaching staff and the players, we weren’t consulted on this deal. It had nothing do with us. We were excited to play Stanwood and we were getting prepared.”
The game was to be the season finale for both Everett (1-8) and Stanwood (2-7).
Stanwood football coach Eric Keizer said his team was “devastated” by the news that the game had been canceled, but the Spartans have since found a Week 10 opponent in Nooksack Valley.
“We’re excited to have a game against Nooksack Valley,” Keizer said.
Herald writer Brian Adamowsky contributed to this story.
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