Small schools in rural Illinois can sometimes struggle to maintain a varsity, 11-on-11 football program.
For Cerro Gordo's program, they were in danger of not having a varsity season this year because of a lack of numbers. On the WHOW Morning Show Thursday, Superintendent of Cerro Gordo Schools Dr Emily Weidner told Regional Radio they searched for a co-op partner for most of the summer.
According to Dr. Weidner, just before Cerro Gordo was ready to commit to a JV only schedule, Arcola reached out to coop, and so the district has been in a football coop with them for the first third of the football season.
Dr. Weidner credits the Cerro Gordo-Bement coaches for helping facilitate daily transportation for students to Arcola for practices. The community is stepping up in a big way to try to build back football in Cerro Gordo.
Homecoming is a big part of the high school football season, and while Cerro Gordo will not get to host a football game for its Homecoming week, they are still planning for a normal week of activities otherwise.
Arcola's coop with Cerro Gordo and Bement allows them to remain in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. It remains the district's goal to have 11-on-11 football in Cerro Gordo in the future.
