2026 Season Canceled for Conjoined New York High School Football Team

Superintendents from the Cambridge and Salem School Districts in New York announced on Friday that the conjoined Cambridge-Salem varsity football team will not have a 2026 season.

Statement from the Superintendents

Superintendents James Ducharme of Cambridge and Julie Collier of Salem stated in a combined release that “low varsity registration numbers” resulted in a canceled 2026 campaign.

“This decision was not made lightly and made in collaboration with both school districts and coaching staff. Currently there are not enough student-athletes registered to safely field a varsity football team for the upcoming season,” the release noted.

Cambridge-Salem had a successful 2025 season

Cambridge-Salem was coming off a 2025 season that resulted in a 9-2 record and an appearance in the Section II Class D championship game. The team, however, lost 35-0 to Greenwich.

Doug Luke, Cambridge-Salem’s head coach, told The Albany Times-Union in July that he was concerned there might not be a varsity team this year.

Luke noted that 12 players were committed to play at the varsity level, which was below the required 16-player rule for varsity games each week during the season.

“This is something you never thought you would be in,” Luke said via The Times-Union. “We were 9-2 last year and thought we were going to be pretty good this year. People just didn’t come out. I don't know how to change that.”

Cambridge’s History as a Program

Cambridge has reached 18 Section II title games in history, including three with Salem. Cambridge has also competed in seven Class D state championship games, winning three of them in 1999, 2016 and 2017.

In 2022, Cambridge-Salem was the Class D state runner-up following a 63-20 loss to Section IV’s Tioga. Between 2010 and 2018, Cambridge captured five sectional titles, including two with Salem.

“I was shocked when I heard Cambridge-Salem was struggling with numbers,” said Section II football chairman Sean Colfer via The Times-Union. “They have been a perennial powerhouse for decades. When I coached at Onondaga (in 2003), we played against them in the state championship. My son was the quarterback. It is kind of mind-blowing.”

Cambridge-Salem Football at Other Levels

The joint release stated that Cambridge-Salem football as a whole will still have JV and modified seasons this year.

As of late July, Cambridge-Salem’s JV team had 17 players committed. Luke mentioned that the goal is to add a few more players in the coming weeks.

“The JV and modified teams will play full schedules, giving younger players practice and game time, which will allow the districts to rebuild a varsity team and build a stronger program for the future,” the release noted.

Future of Cambridge-Salem Varsity Football To Be Determined

It is unclear if Cambridge-Salem will have a varsity football season in 2027, but the release stated that it is “the (school districts’) goal to have a varsity program in the future.”

“Cambridge and Salem will work throughout this school year to rebuild the football program to increase interest and participation at all levels,” the release added.

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