There is less than a week until kickoff of the Section V high school football season with scrimmages scheduled for this weekend.
This is the first season in years in which all teams are under one umbrella. There are no breakaway groups or leagues, like the Wayne-Finger Lakes Independent. Every team is eligible to play in sectionals, the area's high school football playoffs.
But not everyone is happy.
Not enough players came out for the team at Mynderse Academy this preseason. An arrangement was made for 12 Mynderse players to join the Waterloo Tigers, coached by Tyrone Thomas, this fall.
"It's relatively new," Mynderse athletic director Kevin Korzeniewski said, adding that Waterloo is "hosting" the merger and had enough players to continue in 2026.
"Mynderse has low numbers this year."
The new Waterloo/Mynderse team will compete in Class B this season. Three home games take place at Waterloo and one at Mynderse Academy.
"We're talking about that now," Korzeniewski said. "We were a D, Waterloo a C."
Low participation numbers ended the season of the Wilson/Early College Wildcats before Week 1 in Section V.
"We're all battling that," Section V football coordinator Tyler Winter said.
Wilson athletic director Eric Mundorff said the Wildcats hope to play at the junior varsity level instead.
The two withdrawals from the season leave holes in the Wayne-Finger Lakes League and Rochester City Athletic Conference schedules. Edison/Padilla at Franklin/School of the Arts/School Without Walls, another team in the RCAC, is back in Class AA after being listed in Class A2.
Here is a list of teams ready to take the field this weekend for scrimmages around Section V.
Section V football scrimmages on Aug. 28
- Irondequoit, 9 a.m.: Penfield
- Canandaigua, 10 a.m.: Churchville-Chili
- Victor, 5 p.m.: East/World of Inquiry
- Webster Schroeder, 6 p.m.: McQuaid
- Fairport, 6:45 p.m.: Brighton
- Pittsford, 6 p.m. at Sutherland: Gates Chili
- Geneseo, 7 p.m.: Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton
Section V football scrimmages on Aug. 29
- Hilton, 9 a.m.: Brockport, Greece Athena
- Red Jacket, 9 a.m.: Midlakes
- Waterloo/Mynderse, 9 a.m. at Waterloo: Finney, Clyde-Savannah
- University Prep, 10 a.m. at Rochester Community Sports Complex: Buffalo Canisius
- Eastridge, 10 a.m.: Aquinas
- Geneva, 10 a.m.: Palmyra-Macedon
- Wayne, 10 a.m.: Edison/Padilla at Franklin/School of the Arts/School Without Walls
- Oakfield-Alabama/Elba, 10 a.m. at Oakfield-Alabama: Alexander/Pembroke, LeRoy/Caledonia, Barker/Royalton-Hartland, Newfane
- Newark/Marion, 10 a.m. at Newark: Attica
- Penn Yan/Dundee, 10 a.m. at Penn Yan: Lyons/Sodus
- Bolivar-Richburg, 11 a.m.: Franklinville
- Rush-Henrietta, 11 a.m.: Webster Thomas
- Bishop Kearney/Williamson, 11 a.m. at Hobart/William Smith College: Bishop Ludden/Grimes
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. Follow him @jjDandC on X (Twitter) and Instagram. Please contact him at JAMESJ@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New merger, one canceled season as Section V football scrimmages near
