St. Francis forfeits Hope Academy game over safety concerns

St. Francis will forfeit Friday’s game against Hope Academy at Altgeld Park.

The move comes after gunshots were heard during last week’s Providence vs. Hope Academy game. Read the full story on that here.

“It’s a very difficult decision, but we have to make decisions that are in the best interests of the safety of our kids,” St. Francis athletic director Dan Hardwick told the Daily Herald. “In the face of all that I hope Hope understands we have an obligation to keep our kids safe.”

“We are disappointed in getting the forfeit,” Hope Academy coach Matt Kelly said. “The kids were excited to play their homecoming game. This decision was something out of our control. We feel like we have a solid plan in place to assure the safety of all the student-athletes and fans that attend our home games. This was an incident that had nothing to do with Hope Academy or anyone in attendance at our game. This was also the first incident in the 13 years we have played at Hope Field. We feel very strongly about the difference we are making in the community and with our students.”

St. Francis football player John Vohasek (johnvohasek) commented on the forfeit on Thursday evening on Twitter:

“As a Saint Francis player, I am speaking on behalf of the team. We all wanted to play, and we all felt safe to play at Altgeld. But due to circumstances, the decision was not in our control. The players will be releasing a larger statement later in the week. Thank you.”

Hope Academy will improve to 5-2 this season. St. Francis will be 1-6 with the forfeit. The Eagles have one regular season home game remaining, Week 9 against McNamara.

“As far as teams in the future I feel very confident that they will see the plan we have in place and feel very good about the safety of everyone in attendance,” Kelly said. ” Sadly, incidents like this are becoming common place all over our country, not just a problem in the city. “