MAHANOY CITY, Pa. -- It was supposed to be senior night tonight at Mahanoy Area High School as the Golden Bears were set to play the Marian Catholic Colts.
But after an injury sidelined another player on the Marian Catholic roster, the Colts were forced to forfeit.
"If a team can't provide enough kids to play, you gotta do what you gotta do," said Neil Pascoe, who owns Pascoli's Pizza in Mahanoy City.
"There's not that many kids to pick from, there really isn't. Same with Mahanoy Area, same with Shenandoah. You know, it's not like the bigger schools, the AAAs [schools]. They're not the first school that this has ever happened to where they've had to cancel a season or cancel games because of lack of participation."
Bruce Shickora went to Marian Catholic and played on the football team. He says this is a sad moment for the seniors on the team - especially since Marian just won a district title 4 years ago.
"They just don't have enough people, and you know, it's tough for the seniors...you have to put yourself in their shoes...you play football over there for four years and then your season gets cut short...but you gotta do what you gotta do I think it was the right decision and they'll bounce back," said Shickora.
While Marian Catholic's season has come to an end, Mahanoy Area plans to still hold their senior night celebration.
Mahanoy Area's booster club shared on social media that Shenandoah Valley has volunteered to host senior night next week at their stadium. The school district confirmed to Newswatch 16 they were working with Shenandoah Valley to make this happen, but would not share any other details.