This fall, the Moniteau varsity football team turned in one of the worst, if not the worst, season in school history. The Warriors went 0-10 while being outscored 452-87.

They began the season with 30 players, far less than most of the teams they faced. After three regular season games, they were unable to field a team due to injuries and had to forfeit a game to Central Clarion, a team with players from three different schools — Clarion Area, Clarion-Limestone and North Clarion.

The following week, Moniteau took the field and played a game against Saint Marys, a team that includes players from Elk County Catholic, and lost by 40 points.

Other opponents who defeated Moniteau — Bradford, Punxsutawney and DuBois — are much larger schools.

Near the end of the season, Moniteau was forced to bring in freshmen who had never played before and almost every player was playing hurt to some degree.

I can't blame head coach Bob Rottman, who resigned last month. It was impossible to prepare a team of 20 players to face a team of over 50 players.

Unlike basketball, baseball and track, football is a physical contact sport in which size and strength do matter. Other contact sports like wrestling adhere to strict weight restrictions.

It's time for the powers that be, from the athletic director to those in District 9, to level the playing field. If that's not possible, maybe it is time for Moniteau to look into moving to District 10.

Ed Flick, Boyers