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The nine-man football scene will have a bit of a shake up next season as Lyle-Pacelli and LeRoy-Ostrander will be joining forces.

LP, which didn’t have a varsity team last fall, was not going to field a varsity team this fall either, but due to a recent agreement, LP players will be able to suit up for the Cardinals and play with LeRoy-Ostrander this fall. For this season, the team will wear LO uniforms and play all of its games in LeRoy.

For LP, the move allows juniors and seniors to enjoy a season of varsity football and for LO, the Cardinals will be able to add a couple of key players to a squad that is expected to be back in contention this fall. LO head coach Trevor Carrier will remain in the top spot and LP will likely bring Patrick Murphy, who coached the LP JV this last fall, as an addition to the coaching staff.

The co-op will bring three school districts together and it should be a good chance for the players to form some new bonds, while learning to work together.

The Cardinals can relate to LP’s struggle with numbers as it wasn’t that long ago when LO had to put its varsity program on hold due to having too many younger players. That move helped LO win a state football title in 2021.

Whatever happens this fall, it’s good that LP upperclassmen will get a chance to be part of a varsity squad and LO will certainly use some of LP’s players. In fact, during a girls basketball game between LO and LP this past winter, a group of Cardinal football players looked across the gym at LP junior Dylan Christianson and chanted “We want Dylan! We want Dylan!” 

I don’t know if those Cardinals saw the future, but they got their wish. They got Dylan, and the rest of LP’s football players.