Christ Church Forfeits South Carolina High School Football Game Amid Roster Shortage

Christ Church has forfeited its scheduled Friday football game against undefeated Daniel, with injuries and a recent transfer leaving the Cavaliers with a severely depleted roster, according to the father of a Christ Church player.

Daniel announced the cancellation on its athletic department's X account.

"We're disappointed to share that our scheduled varsity football game this Friday at Christ Church will not be played, as our opponent has chosen to forfeit the game," Daniel's athletic department said. "After learning the game would not be played, our staff made every effort to find another opponent, including reaching out to neighboring states, so our student-athletes could have the opportunity to take the field Friday night."

Christ Church has not publicly announced a reason for the forfeit.

Ryan Childers, the father of a Christ Church player, said on X that injuries and the recent transfer of standout running back Michael Martin II had significantly reduced the Cavaliers' available roster.

Childers said Christ Church was down to 19 players because of eight injuries and Martin's transfer before four more players were injured in last Friday's game.

"So, if you do the math, we would have been lining up for Friday night's game with only 14 players, many of whom were already banged up," Childers wrote. "Again, the last thing we wanted to do was forfeit, but player safety comes first."

Childers also criticized Daniel's announcement for not mentioning the circumstances surrounding the decision.

"It's a shame that Daniel, who knows full well the reason we had to pull out, didn't acknowledge why we chose to sit this week out," Childers wrote.

Christ Church Dealing With Difficult Start

The forfeit continues a difficult start to the season for Christ Church, which falls to 0-5 with the forfeit.

The Cavaliers had been competitive despite losing their first four games on the field, falling 10-3 to Mauldin, 27-21 to St. Joseph's, 27-14 to St. Christopher's of Virginia and 28-14 to Hilton Head Island.

Christ Church also lost its leading running back last week when Martin transferred to Southside Christian.

The three-star junior had rushed 53 times for 172 yards through the Cavaliers' first three games this season. As a sophomore in 2025, Martin rushed for 1,425 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The current struggles represent a significant change for a program that won consecutive Class 2A state championships in 2022 and 2023, going a combined 27-3 under coach Quin Hatfield.

Christ Church has won seven state championships overall. The Cavaliers went 8-4 last season and won a first-round playoff game.

Daniel Improves to 5-0 With Forfeit

Daniel improves to 5-0 with the forfeit after winning its first four games on the field.

The Lions are coming off a 42-19 victory over Greenville. They also defeated Wren 42-28, Belton-Honea Path 45-7 and Powdersville 56-34.

Sophomore running back Kingsten Bibb and junior quarterback Jace Grass lead a Daniel offense that has scored at least 42 points in each of its first four games.

The Lions went 10-2 in 2025 and have been one of South Carolina's most successful programs in recent years. Daniel went undefeated while winning Class 3A state championships in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

The program has posted double-digit victories in every season since going 2-9 in 2017.

Two-Week Break Gives Cavaliers Chance to Get Healthy

The cancellation gives Christ Church nearly two weeks before its next scheduled game against Hampton County on Sept. 25.

That break could give some of the Cavaliers' injured players additional time to recover before region play begins.

The region schedule could also provide Christ Church an opportunity to recover from its difficult start. Chapman is 4-0, but every other team in the region entered this week with either a 1-3 or 0-4 record.

For Christ Church, however, the immediate priority is getting enough players healthy to safely return to the field.

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