Lack of players force school to end football season early

CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago high school has decided to end its football season with three games left because it cannot field enough players.

Whitney Young, a top academic high school, had a 22-man roster at the beginning of the season, the minimum. Principal Joyce Kenner says the roster has dropped to 19 due to injuries and players being academically ineligible.

Whitney Young, in the playoffs two seasons ago, was winless this season. It recently lost to Simeon High School, 72-0, and forfeited its game to Taft High School because of its roster woes.

The school previously scaled back its football program to a single varsity team, absorbing younger players. Coach Timothy Franken says waning interest in football nationwide, and a declining school population is in part to blame.

He says the school's plan is to regroup and "try to make playing football attractive at Whitney Young."