Shelby County chose not to play its high school football game against Fairdale on Thursday night. The Rockets decided to forfeit so the players could support the girl’s volleyball team during the playoffs.
It did not go as they had hoped!
Not only did the volleyball team lose, the high school football program could face repercussions for the cancelation. The KHSAA will review the timeline of events and determine whether a punishment is warranted.
Shelby County was supposed to play Fairdale to finish the regular season.
Founded in 1960, Shelby County High School is located in Shelbyville, Kentucky. It enrolls approximately 1,000 students in Grades 9-12. Founded in 1958, Fairdale High School is located in Louisville, Kentucky. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students.
These two schools compete in the same district for athletics. They are not in the same class.
Shelby County competes in Class 4A of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Fairdale competes in Class 5A. The latter will actually move to Class 6A in 2027 while the former stays right where it is. But that’s beside the point.
These two high school football programs had very different seasons. The Rockets won only three of their first nine games and sit third in the district standings at 2-2. The Bulldogs won eight of their first nine games and sit first in the district at 4-0.
They were supposed to play each other on Thursday night. It was going to be the final game of the regular season for both programs. As far as I can tell, it was not Senior Night for the Bulldogs. They held their Senior Night ceremony on Sept. 11.
However, the athletes are promised 10 regular season games. This was supposed to be the senior class’ final regular season game.
The high school football game was ruled as a forfeit.
It was announced on early Thursday morning that Shelby County decided not to play Fairdale. The Rockets took a forfeit loss.
Both teams are going to make the playoffs. They were already locked into the postseason. Thursday’s result did not matter.
With that in mind, Shelby County chose to bail on the high school football game so that its players could support the girl’s volleyball team during its regional championship game.
“That’s a big deal for us,” said head coach and athletic director Powell Miller. He tried to get the football game moved to Wednesday or Friday to avoid the overlap. Fairdale was unable to make accommodations. The Bulldogs’ home stadium is currently under construction so they were going to play Thursday’s game at Doss High School, and Doss has a game on Friday.
Because the game could not be moved, the Rockets accepted the L. Instead of playing football, the Shelby County football team traveled to the volleyball program’s first-ever regional final against North Oldham at Eminence High School in Henry County.
Unfortunately, the Rockets lost the regional championship volleyball match in four sets. Their football team will return to the field for the playoffs on Nov. 6. It is possible that Shelby County could receive punishment from the KHSAA for the forfeit. A fine is most likely.