West Caldwell won't field varsity football in 2026

West Caldwell High School announced that it will not have varisty football this fall.

In a statement on social media, the school said that it does not have enough upperclassmen to safely field a varsity team. The Warriors graduated 14 of their 30 players from last season's team. Moving the underclassmen up when they aren't yet ready didn't seem like a wise decision according to the school.

"We cannot send young players into games against fully grown athletes when we know it isn't safe for them," the school said in the statement. "Their health and well-being come first — even when the answer is hard. It isn't the plan any of us hoped for, but it is the plan that’s best for our student athletes."

The school said that the decison was not made lighlty. It was a collaborative decsion between the district, the school, and its athletic department. Per the statement, members of the community asked them to protect their players and think about the long-term goals, so that's what they did.

The Warriors finished the 2025 season with a 2-8 overall record and 1-6 in the Western Piedmont 3A/4A Conference under former head coach Tony Pyland., who resigned in February. In April, the school announced the hiring of George Saffos as its next head coach. With coaching experience on staffs at Pine Forest, West Iredell, and Alexander Central, Saffos brings decades of coaching to the Warrior prorgam where he will lead a rebuilding year.

The most recent examples of programs suspending a varisty season were at Patton High School in 2024 and East Rutherford in 2021. Patton returned to play last season and finished with a 1-9 record.

The JV season at West Caldwell will persist. With a full reset season, the school said this is "a chance to steady the program, keep our kids safe, and return stronger. JV football keeps going strong this fall. Varsity will look to next year."

"It’s important that we mention how proud we are of our varsity football players," the statement concluded. "This news was tough to hear, but they have displayed a strength and maturity that only Warriors can. They are an important part of West Caldwell's ongoing athletic strategy, and they can be proud of that forever. Football isn't going anywhere at West Caldwell. Stick with it this year. Fill the stands for our JV. Let’s build the future of Warrior football together."