The St. Paul Academy football team, seeded sixth, forfeited their section game against Highland Park High School this past Tuesday because there were only 14 available players.

The Spartans had zero wins and nine losses this season. Plagued by injuries all year, Athletic Director Peter Sawkins said in a letter to Spartan football families that “…we have concluded that we cannot field a team that can compete in conditions that are safe for our players.”

The team consists of four schools; St. Paul Academy, Twin Cities Academy, Mounds Park Academy, and Great River School have had trouble fielding a team that can compete against other similar private schools. Even with the move to a new athletic conference, the team has still struggled against most teams, being outscored 448 to 88 on the season.

With a  7-64 record over the last eight seasons, the team has had only one non-losing season  in 2006 when they went 5-5.

The future of the team could be in jeopardy. “…we will step back and review the season in the next several weeks and determine the implications moving forward,” Sawkins said in his email.

Some players are already looking to next season. “We are going to play,” junior football player Charlie Ward said.