ATHENS - Athens High School may get to play a football season after all.
After the news came out last week that Athens would have to cancel its varsity football season due to lack of participation, it was announced on Monday, Aug. 17 that the school has plans to be involved in a co-op with St. Philip High School.
The Athens High School Board of Education approved the decision to join St. Philip in a co-op on Monday. The joining of the two teams to play in the 8-player division now awaits approval by the MHSAA, which is expected on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
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"We're thrilled. It's a great thing for both schools," said St. Philip Athletic Director Blake Shaw. "After Athens sent out an email saying they couldn't field a team, I contacted the MHSAA to see what we could do. I knew we were past the date to announce a co-op, but I asked if we could do some kind of emergency co-op situation and they said yes. The MHSAA still has to approve it, but the people I talked to said it should go through easy."

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