MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Marshall High School football players Joshua Jordan and Montrell Brown-Webb say their hearts sank after hearing the news that they would not be able to play in their first football game of the season.
"This is my first year playing since 8th grade, and I can't play in my first high school game," said Jordan.
"We wanted this game badly because this was a statement game," said Brown-Webb.
According to the players, they got a message late Wednesday night that their game against Racine Horlick High School, which was supposed to take place on Thursday, was canceled. The players say it's allegedly because somehow almost all of the team's physicals got lost. And they need them to play.
"We sent everything into the AD and he told everybody we were cleared, but then the head said nobody was cleared," said Brown-Webb
But MPS officials say the physicals being lost is just not true, but instead, they say players haven't been properly registered.
"I am not aware of any forms being lost at the school. We certainly do not want students playing a high contact sport such as football without the required medical clearance and insurance card," said Regional Superintendent for Milwaukee Public Schools, Jennifer Smith.
Marshall High School isn't the only Milwaukee Public School to have had their first football game of the year canceled. Three other different games that were supposed to take place on Friday got the ax as well.
"It is a bummer because they've been gone for a year and then they come back prepared, and then their game got canceled. I'd be mad too," said Marshall High School junior Kenneth Kiflie.
Horlick High School officials spoke with WTMJ Radioafter learning that their game against Marshall wouldn't be happening.
"It's a tough sell to those kids that have been putting in work over the last few weeks. This is kind of a small setback, but we talked to our coaches and our students as we are preparing to come back," said Racine Horlick Athletic Director Joe Wendt.
In a statement from the WIAA regarding the cancellations, they say they have little to no involvement in the regular-season schedule for schools, except for the results of those scheduled games.
