Tennessee High School Football Team Forced to Forfeit Its Season Opener

Injuries dropped Mount Juliet Christian Academy to 12 available players just days after the TSSAA rejected a proposed football co-op with RePublic.

The Mount Juliet Christian Academy in Tennessee has announced it will forfeit its 2026 football season opener after rash of injuries and transfers. | Mount Juliet Christian Academy

Mount Juliet Christian Academy will not play its scheduled 2026 Tennessee high school football season opener after its already-thin roster was reduced to just 12 available players.

MJCA has forfeited Friday's game against Jo Byrns after two players were injured during Tuesday's practice, according to a report from David Wilson of Main Street Preps and The Chronicle of Mount Juliet. The injuries dropped the Saints from 14 available players to 12, leaving first-year head coach Brett Ridenour and school officials with little choice but to call off the game.

“It’s a literal numbers situation,” Ridenour told Main Street Preps. “We want to play as much as we can, but with more injuries it’s pretty much impossible.”

Transfers Leave Mount Juliet Christian With Depleted Roster

The problem goes well beyond the two injuries.

According to the report, MJCA has lost seven football players to transfers since May following the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's adoption of its first-time transfer rule in February. The departures had reduced the Saints' overall roster to 17 players before injuries further diminished the number available for Friday.

MJCA attempted to address the numbers problem by seeking permission to form a football cooperative with RePublic, a Nashville charter school.

The proposed arrangement could have provided a significant influx of players. RePublic, which has discontinued its own football program twice during the past decade, reported 45 students interested in playing football at MJCA, according to Main Street Preps.

But the TSSAA Board of Control rejected the request Monday in a 6-6 vote.

TSSAA rules permit certain schools to form cooperative athletic programs, but Division II schools such as MJCA can only host cooperative arrangements with other Division II schools. RePublic is a public charter school.

Saints Initially Planned to Play Despite TSSAA Decision

Despite losing the co-op vote Monday, MJCA did not immediately abandon its season.

Ridenour met with his players following the decision, and the Saints planned to move forward with Friday's opener. That changed after Tuesday's practice, when two more injuries reduced the number of players available to face Jo Byrns. The cancellation also leaves Jo Byrns without an opening-week opponent.

“Our boys are devastated right now,” Jo Byrns coach Justin Robison told Main Street Preps, adding that his team will use the unexpected week off to prepare for its next opponent.

Mount Juliet Christian Expects to Play Next Week

For now, MJCA's season has only been interrupted — not canceled.

The Saints are scheduled to face Concord Christian on Aug. 28, and Ridenour said he expects at least two players to be medically cleared by then, with another potentially becoming available.

“We are playing next week,” Ridenour told Main Street Preps. “I 100 percent believe we are playing next week, if we are healthy.”