The latest attempt to preserve a varsity high school football season for three Milwaukee-area schools that have struggled to field their own programs in recent years has failed.
Shorewood School District chief of staff Carrie Wettstein confirmed Aug. 13 that a co-op with Messmer High School and Dominican High School will be unable to play at the varsity level for the second consecutive season. The goal for the three schools that have reported a combined 2026-27 enrollment of 1,436 is to build up the depth and talent for a return to varsity in 2027-28.
“Together with our co-op partners, we have recruited an experienced coaching staff and determined that playing a JV schedule this year is most appropriate for our players, and the long-term development of our program,” Wettstein said in part in a statement to the Journal Sentinel.
This development represents the latest setback for three programs that have struggled independently and under various co-op structures to complete varsity football seasons. Shorewood and Messmer first merged in 2000, just a couple of seasons after Shorewood had endured a 63-game losing streak extending from 1989 to 1995. Momentum seemed to be building in the early 2010s after three consecutive playoff seasons from 2011 to 2013, but the Messwood co-op made the playoffs just twice from 2014 to 2024. School officials ultimately canceled the latter half of the 2024 season citing player safety concerns.
The co-op added Dominican in 2025, another program that has experienced difficulties fielding competitive teams. The Dominican Knights were coming off a 2024 campaign that included five forfeited games and had forfeited the entire 2022 varsity season as well.
A newly formed Shorewood/Messmer/Dominican co-op did not result in a return to varsity competition, however, in 2025, nor will it in the fall of 2026.
Wettstein’s statement concluded with an affirmation that the three districts and their communities remain committed to offering football to interested student-athletes, and that they look forward to a successful junior varsity season.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shorewood/Messmer/Dominican cancels second consecutive varsity season
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
