"They didn't believe in us," Central High School football players devastated after varsity team cut

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Central High School announced Friday its varsity football season will be canceled two weeks before Missouri's high school football season begins. Athletes and their parents are now calling on the community to support and advocate for the upperclassmen.

The team told Ozarks First this decision will not only impact varsity players but the Bulldog community as a whole, including cheerleaders, Kilties, the marching band, parents, and alumni.

“We were hurt,” said varsity player Julian Baker. “Our pride kind of just got stripped, you know, and I couldn’t really control my emotions that much, too.”

“It’s your own people doing it, not like a different school, it's your school, your administrators. They took it away from you without even a choice,” said David Bitok, captain of the Central High School football team.

Going into his senior year, Bitok said the announcement felt like a punch in the gut after spending the last three months attending morning practice, working, and then going back to a second practice in the evening.

“I sacrificed so much for football just to get it taken away out of the blue, out of nowhere, and without warning,” Bitok said.

"They didn't believe in us," said Baker. "We've been working for months now, through November to the summer, just for them to take it from us three days before the school starts. This is really just hurtful."

Baker said the announcement was devastating and sudden. 

“If they wanted to take our season away from us, it could have happened maybe a month ago, two weeks ago. It did not have to happen three days before school,” Baker said.

Bitok and Baker had football practice at Harrison Stadium earlier today, only this time as junior varsity players. Central’s athletic director told the team the season was canceled due to low numbers of upperclassmen and safety concerns, though Baker said their team has about 10 more players this year compared to last season.

“We were preparing ourselves mentally, physically, and just like our pride,” Baker said.

“We’ve been training since November because we knew this was going to happen, all summer long because we knew this was going to happen. And again, they didn’t believe in us, and that’s your own school that didn't believe in you,” Bitok said.

Bitok said it’s more than just a missed football season. For some players, football is the reason they come to school.

“Football was an escape for lots of people because, you know, Central is not in the best area. A lot of boys use this as an escape, you know, to get anger out or take a break from something,” Bitok said. "Even if we don’t always win, it’s still a high school experience."

Bitok posted about the situation on Facebook, announcing that the players’ parents are working on organizing a protest and have released a petition to get the team back. He said parents and players from Marionville to Hillcrest, as well as Central alumni, have shown support.

“Even if we don’t have a varsity season, we’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep going, you know, because not only are we fighting for ourselves, for our pride, but we’re also fighting for our school. We’re fighting for the Bulldog community,” Bitok said.

The Bulldogs will play at the junior varsity level this season. The teams scheduled to play Central will have an open date.

As of this article, the petition started by Central's varsity team has received 898 verified signatures within 21 hours.

Visit https://chng.it/QV6Skn8Bqc to access the petition and read its cause.