Butler High School Pulls Football Team From WPIAL

BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) - Butler High School is pulling their football team out of the WPIAL.

The district's athletic director says after going 0 and 20 the past two seasons, they decided to try something different and be an independent.

This way, they can play smaller teams and be more competitive.

After going 0 and 20 the past two seasons, Butler High School pulled their football team out of the WPIAL. That way, they won't be forced to play powerhouse teams like Central Catholic and Pine-Richland. Hear from their Athletic Director on @KDKA news at six. pic.twitter.com/vVFxX5vfWH

— PAUL D. MARTINO (@PMARTKDKA) January 3, 2020

However, this also means their football team will no longer be eligible to play in WPIAL tournaments.

"We tried a lot of different avenues to try to revive the program and bring it back to respectability. We just felt like we needed to go down this avenue and find a more competitive schedule so that we could experience a little bit of success," said Butler High School Athletic Director Bill Mylan.

The WPIAL is the governing body for high school sports in Western Pennsylvania. With 2,000 students, Butler was one of the biggest high schools in the WPIAL. And they were forced to play all the other powerhouse teams in their conference, like Central Catholic and Pine-Richland.

Not only have they lost their last 20 games, but the losses were often lopsided, sometimes losing by 50 or 60 points. Kids got injured or quit. They only had about half the players they needed. It wasn't safe.

"You're worried about players that shouldn't necessarily be playing in a varsity game, having to play another position. So safety was definitely a concern for us at the end of the year."

As an independent, the Golden Tornadoes can now play smaller schools, including ones in the Erie area. And they're hoping it means some wins next year and more enthusiasm for football.