Troy High School A.D.: Levy will decide football’s fate

On Tuesday, Troy, Idaho’s citizens will vote on a levy to decide, among other things, whether their high school will field athletic teams this year.

Regardless of what happens, Trojans athletic director James Stoner said the school’s football team plans to meet that night at 10, around the time the election results are scheduled to come in.

“If the vote passes, that meeting would turn into a practice,” Stoner said, noting that in Idaho, you need 10 practices before you can play a game. “And if (it doesn’t pass), they would head home.”

The football team already canceled its season opener against Salmon River and asked Potlatch to move its Sept. 4 game back a day, so that the Trojans can get the required number of practices in before their game – that is, if the levy passes.

“Potlatch was gracious enough to move their game,” said Stoner, who greatly appreciated that the Loggers accommodated Troy. “They didn’t have to do that. The practice in Idaho is you make a schedule and you sign the contract that binds you. Those were contracted games and they had a right to say, ‘No we won’t do that,’ and cause us to forfeit.”

If the levy passes, the Trojans cross country and volleyball teams will begin practicing Wednesday.

“It’s really been difficult times,” said Stoner, who noted that “every community has its struggles.”