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A week after Hazen High School announced it had forfeited it’s football game against Bellevue, the Renton school says it has canceled the rest of the team’s scheduled regular season games.
Hazen High School principal Craig Cooper, in a communication platform for Hazen staff, students and families, posted that the season was done.
“We have unfortunate news to share with you all today (Oct. 8) regarding the remainder of the Hazen Football program’s season,” Cooper said in a post obtained by the Renton Reporter. “A combination of injuries, attrition, and academic suspensions has left the Hazen Football program with an insufficient number of available varsity-level players to safely compete in the remainder of their league schedule.”
Cooper said the varsity games against Issaquah on Oct. 9, Eastlake on Oct. 16, Skyline on Oct. 23 and the cross-divisional game on Oct. 30 have been forfeited and will not be played. The JV/C games against those teams have also been canceled. The forfeit of those contests has been accepted and approved by the KingCo Conference.
“Work is underway to find potential opponents for the players who remain in our football program to compete against,” Cooper said. “We will provide updates as we are able to add games to our schedule.”
Last week, it was initially reported by Mason Kelley’s substack “Spilled Ink” column that Hazen forfeited its Oct. 2 game against Bellevue and the rest of its season. This was found not to be the case at the time by a statement provided to the Renton Reporter from District athletic director Jesse Snyder and multiple sources confirming the season was going to continue. But it turns out, Kelley wasn’t wrong, just early.
The Renton Reporter reached out to Snyder, Hazen athletic director James Billotti and Renton School District spokesperson Randy Matheson for comment but has yet to hear back.
This decision by Hazen comes a week after Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way canceled its varsity football season due to player safety concerns. The Titans had lost every game, and were outscored 147-0 in its final three games against Thomas Jefferson, Kent-Meridian and Decatur.
The Reporter also received a letter via email on the morning of Oct. 7 from a Hazen High School student. The email contained a photo of a letter typed out addressed to Hazen Athletics that informed Hazen staff that the four senior captains were quitting.
The letter requested a new head coach, that their head coach Marcus Carr allegedly was absent during halftime, and the players were forced to be the adults in the room. The letter also notes that the coach reportedly received head pats from his girlfriend while she blamed the players for him not being fed at home due to the loss.
The Renton Reporter emailed Carr and is waiting for a response. The Reporter also reached out to the district about the letter from the players but hasn’t heard back.
The captains described practice having just 15 players in pads.
“Half the team is injured without backups as people continue to quit,” according to the letter.
The letter was signed by senior lineman Marcus Palanchuck, senior lineman Jayden Keen, senior Noah Harris and senior Chris Kim. As of Oct. 7, all four players were not on the current Hazen roster.
Hazen has a record of 0-5, including a 61-0 loss to Mount Si on Sept. 25, one week prior to the forfeit against Bellevue.
Cooper said in his post that the significance of forfeiting goes beyond the players.
“We recognize that the loss of a varsity football season impacts more than just the players; it is a loss for the students, families, and community members who come to games, and to groups like marching band, cheer, and dance who have worked very hard through the summer and into the school year to be an invaluable part of the football experience for the entire Hazen Highlander community,” Cooper said. “We are thankful for the role that they play in making Highlander Football a positive part of student life at Hazen High School and are working on potential solutions to preserve their senior recognition activities that had been planned for the game against Eastlake on Oct. 16.
“We understand there will be a lot of questions. Please understand that this is an evolving situation and we may not have a lot of answers at this time. As we work to make the best opportunities available we can with the remainder of the football season, we are committed to keeping our school community informed and will provide information as it becomes available.”
This is the second time in two years a Hazen sport has been canceled during the season. Last year, the Hazen dance team had a coaching change and every dancer quit except one for the competition season.
