The 2016 Boothbay Region High School varsity football season ended seemingly before it began. School and team officials Thursday night announced the varsity season was cancelled and the team will compete as a club sport this fall.

BRHS Principal Dan Welch read a prepared statement to players and parents at 7 p.m. following the team’s  practice. Welch reported that, after the coaching staff had consulted this week with Superintendent of Schools Eileen King, School Committee Chairman Larry Colcord, Athletic Director Allan Crocker and himself, a decision was made to play this football season as a club sport.

“We fully anticipate this season will be a competitive and enriching experience that will look very much like a varsity season,” Welch told the players, coaching staff and parents attending the post-practice meeting. “We will still be Seahawk Football. We will still wear our blue and gold. And still have games under the lights. More importantly, our program will continue to be a source of pride for our school and community.”

The decision to compete this fall as a club sport came down to safety. This year’s Seahawk squad lacked enough experienced players who could physically and mentally play at the varsity level. Of the 30 on this fall’s roster, only 24-26 were regularly participating in practice. The team needs approximately 18 varsity-ready players, and it only had 12, according to Dionne.

The coach was concerned playing a varsity schedule this fall would require too many freshmen and sophomores to play at a level they weren’t prepared for and place them in danger of injury. He believes playing as a club sport is in the best interests of both the underclassmen and upperclassmen football players.

By playing at the club level, Boothbay will play other programs experiencing the challenges of having small roster sizes along with having a significant number of inexperienced players.

“What club allows us is to not have a situation where one group doesn’t get the experience of football. This is good for the senior looking to have one final year of the football experience and the freshman who wants to step onto the field without playing at the varsity level,” he said.

School and team officials expected more players to participate this season. Several players from last year eligible to play this fall decided against joining the team. Dionne estimated about nine players “for some reason” decided against returning for another season. Also, the school’s attempt at becoming a combined squad with Wiscasset failed to attract more players. School officials entered into an agreement with the Wiscasset School Committee last spring to play the 2016 football season as a combined squad.

But no Wiscasset students showed up for fall practice.

Fellow Campbell Conference foe, Winthrop/Monmouth has competed as a combined squad since 2012. The two schools’ combined 441 enrollment makes it the largest school in Class D South football this fall eligible for post-season play. Boothbay, with 206 students, is the smallest school playing football in the state. Of the nine Class D South teams eligible for the playoffs, only four have enrollments less than 300: Boothbay, Old Orchard Beach (225), Telstar (236), and Traip (263).

This fall’s small football roster put Boothbay at an even greater competitive disadvantage from an enrollment perspective than in previous years, according to school officials.

“We didn’t realize until the fall practices began how inexperienced our squad was,” Dionne said. “When we handed out equipment was the first time I knew those 7-9 players from last year weren’t going to play and no Wiscasset kids were either.”

Athletic Director Allan Crocker is contacting other football club teams about playing Boothbay this fall. The team will host a controlled scrimmage against Class C Freeport at 5 p.m. Monday at Sherman Field. The team officials aren’t sure if the Aug. 26 game against Maranacook will be played.

Last season, Boothbay finished 2-7 and lost in the Class D South quarterfinals to Lisbon.