Shady Side Academy has postponed its football game this week against Clairton, citing "unprecedented injuries" that the team is dealing with.

The school announced Wednesday that it has postponed Friday night's scheduled game against Clairton, saying that nearly 20 of the team's 40 players are sidelined with injuries, "leaving the program unable to field a competitive roster safely."

 "Coaches and administrators emphasized that the unprecedented number of injuries makes competing this week impossible without compromising player safety," the school said.

Shady Side Academy head coach Andrew Geisler said the team's 2-0 start speaks volumes to the team's character, but nothing is more important than the student-athletes' safety. 

Clairton head coach Wayne Wade said he understands scheduling is a hard job, but "you hate for stuff like this to happen."  

If the two teams are unable to reschedule the game for later this season, the game will be ruled a forfeit in favor of Clairton. Wade said Clairton has no more open dates this season.

"To try to squeeze a game in right before the playoffs, I don't know if I'll be up to that," he said Thursday. 

The news created some social media buzz, as a page for the Bears criticized Shady Side for not playing. Clairton School District said that the page is not affiliated with the district and that it would never support negative rhetoric.  

When the two teams met last season, Clairton won the game 50-0 and Clairton is coming off a 79-0 victory last Friday night against Serra Catholic. 

KDKA reached out to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League for comment but did not hear back on Thursday.