ST. LOUIS – Roosevelt High School’s football season has been abruptly canceled due to a dwindling roster, leaving parents and student athletes frustrated.

The decision to end the Rough Riders’ season came after the team’s roster fell to just 19 players, making it unsafe to compete, according to Athletic Director Ben Corrigan.

Julia Perkins, a parent, expressed concerns about inconsistent communication from the district regarding the cancellation.

“They’ve been practicing since February and for this abrupt conclusion of the season with no alternative! It’s so unfair! It’s unfair!” Perkins said.

Perkins has also disputed the official roster numbers.

““They have 38 active players on their roster. Going to the games they have had 25 players on the sidelines,” Perkins said.

Senior Cameryn Smith voiced worries about losing opportunities for college scholarships due to the lost season.

“They didn’t have to do this for the seniors like; they didn’t have to cancel the season. It’s like 10 seniors on the team and none of us can have a senior year,” Smith said.

The cancellation decision was made on Monday after weeks of injuries reduced the team from nearly 40 players to 19. Parents and players are uncertain about the future of the team and the impact on students’ athletic careers.

“I was going to start off at Mo Valley then work my way up into different colleges and stuff like that. I can still get into college with my academics but I want to go to college to play sports, too. And I wouldn’t want to pay for college because it’s like a lot of money coming out of my pocket,” Smith said.

FOX 2 reached out to St. Louis Public Schools, Roosevelt High School and the Athletic Director for further comment but is still awaiting a response.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.