California High School Ends Varsity Football Season Over Player Safety Concerns

Pasadena High School will not finish the 2026 football season at the varsity level.

The Bulldogs have ended their varsity season after an 0-3 start because of concerns about player safety and a roster short on varsity experience. Pasadena will forfeit its remaining seven varsity games and attempt to field a junior varsity team.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune first reported that Pasadena would shut down its varsity program this fall.

The decision comes less than two years after Pasadena captured its first CIF Southern Section football championship since 1933.

Roster Without Varsity Experience

Pasadena's problems went beyond its win-loss record.

The Bulldogs had been outscored 133-14 through three games, including 105-0 in the first half. But coach Ron Jones pointed to the makeup of his roster as the larger concern.

“We have only two players that played varsity football last season,” Jones told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Pasadena graduated 21 seniors from its 2025 team and lost 10 players to transfers during the offseason. The Bulldogs also did not have separate freshman and junior varsity teams to provide younger players with a developmental level below varsity.

Jones was left trying to field one team.

“We have one team, and they’ve all got to play varsity, even though they’re probably not ready for varsity football,” Jones said.

The youth of the roster was significant. Pasadena's MaxPreps roster listed 11 sophomores and five freshmen.

“But this is what we’re dealing with, a lot of guys with no varsity experience trying to learn on the fly, and it can get dangerous,” Jones told the Tribune.

Jones said quarterback Emelio Roybal, a baseball player brought in to play quarterback, suffered a concussion after taking a hard hit near the sideline, an incident that reinforced his concerns about asking inexperienced players to adjust to varsity football in real time.

It’s a trend we are seeing across high school football. Fewer players are coming out for teams, which has led to less separation between levels, with even some of the state’s top programs no longer fielding freshman teams.

Ultimately, Jones made the decision he felt was best for the program and, more importantly, for the safety of his players. The thought of first-year players being asked to line up against upperclassmen who have been committed to the sport for years, and in many cases are much stronger, creates a legitimate safety concern. Jones deserves recognition for making a difficult call and putting the well-being of his players first.

Transfers Reshaped Pasadena's Football Program

The roster turnover was especially significant.

According to the Tribune, 10 Pasadena players transferred to nearby programs during the offseason. Four went to Baldwin Park, three transferred to Charter Oak and one each went to Burbank, La Salle and St. Francis.

Among the departures were wide receiver Damari Pitts to Baldwin Park, Dash Middleton to Burbank, Daniel Freeman to La Salle and running back Syncerre Pitts to St. Francis.

The most consequential loss may have been quarterback Dutch Burbidge.

Burbidge arrived at Pasadena from Glendora before the 2024 season and helped the Bulldogs win the CIF-SS Division 13 championship. He followed that by throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2025 before transferring to Charter Oak ahead of this season.

Jones summarized the program's recent roster movement simply.

“Transfers giveth and taketh away.”

Transfers have become the backbone of many of the best programs out there, and there’s no need to turn a blind eye to it. It’s the new reality of high school football, and if you don’t adapt with the times, you risk getting left behind.

One big-time transfer, especially at the lower divisions, can completely change the trajectory of a team. That’s particularly true at quarterback, where adding or losing the right player can have an immediate impact on a program’s ability to win.

From CIF Championship to No Varsity Season

Few programs have experienced a more dramatic four-year swing.

Pasadena went 0-10 in 2023 and was outscored 516-34.

One year later, the Bulldogs went 8-7 and defeated Gahr 21-17 in the CIF Southern Section Division 13 championship game, securing the school's first section football championship since 1933.

Pasadena followed with a 6-5 season in 2025, which ended with a 42-16 loss to Santa Monica in the Division 10 playoffs.

Now, before league play in 2026, its varsity season is over.

“I saw it coming,” Jones told the Tribune.

The contrast illustrates how quickly the foundation underneath a high school football program can change. A team celebrating a historic championship in 2024 entered this season with almost none of the varsity experience that helped produce it.

Pasadena Forfeits Seven Games

Pasadena will forfeit the remaining scheduled varsity games against, Burroughs, Gabrielino, San Marino, Crescenta Valley, South Pasadena and Muir. They took their first scheduled forfeit this past week against Monrovia.

That includes the annual Turkey Tussle against rival Muir, traditionally played at the Rose Bowl.

Instead, Pasadena will attempt to find junior varsity competition for the remainder of the season, though several opponents had already found replacement lower-level games.

For a program only two seasons removed from a CIF championship, the immediate goal has changed dramatically.

Pasadena is no longer trying to salvage its 2026 varsity season. The focus turns toward giving its young players an appropriate place to develop, and rebuilding enough depth and experience to safely put the Bulldogs back on a varsity football field.

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