MILWAUKEE — Most high schools in southeastern Wisconsin have already made their share of big plays on the gridiron this fall.
But that's not the case for James Madison and Harold S. Vincent, two north side Milwaukee schools that had to postpone their games last week.
On Sept. 5, Madison was scheduled to play Washington, and Vincent was slotted to play Riverside, but those games never happened.
"I'm kind of confused," said Darnesha Pouncy, who has a child at Madison.
She says high school football, and sports in general, are an important part of the educational experience.
“Confidence, that encouragement, something that they can look forward to doing," Pouncey said when asked by TMJ4 what students would be missing without football. "Like they’re a big part of something, like they want to keep coming to school every day because I have to get good grades to go to practice, go to the games.”
Watch: Two MPS high schools haven't played a football game because of a lack of players
In an emailed statement, an MPS representative said, "Vincent and Madison were not able to play last week due to registration issues and WIAA acclimatization readiness."
According to the district, WIAA requires one week with the team before the students can be ready to play.
"Vincent High School is working with a new athletic director this year, and Madison High School is experiencing low registration numbers for their football team," the district wrote. "As the school year began just last week, we are working to get student-athletes registered and cleared to play."
The district says if there is time in the WIAA schedule, the games could be made up.
Both teams are still scheduled for games this week. Vincent is supposed to play Obama SCTE on Thursday, and Madison is scheduled to play Bradley Tech on Friday.
The district wasn't clear on if the teams would be ready for this week, but did write, "Opponents are able to seek other non-MPS teams to play if not able to play the original opponent or we will reschedule if time allows."
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