Sources have confirmed that the football programs at Stillwater and Hoosic Valley are looking to combine teams going into the 2013 football season.

Nothing is 100% official yet, but according to sources this is something that's being taken very, very seriously.

Both Stillwater and Hoosic Valley are on the smaller side as far as participation, so combining forces between two schools that are 5.9 miles apart makes a lot of sense. Also, the Indians were forced to cut their season short last year after injuries took their toll on the already small team.

As of right now, the merger is entirely dependent on approval from both school boards. According to information provided to The Record, the next Stillwater board meeting is scheduled for May 7th and the merger is a potential hot topic.

Should both boards approve the merger, the newly minted Stillwater/Hoosic Valley program would have to formally apply for approval from Section II, according to football coordinator Gary Vanderzee. The league has already released the schedule for next season with Stillwater once again competing in Class C. Hoosic Valley, which competed as a Class D program in 2013, was not listed on the original schedule.

"There’s an application process," Vanderzee said. "They have to apply to become a combined program and then be approved by the Section. But that’s kind of a formality."

Should the merger happen, the new team would compete at a Class C level, using Stillwater's population numbers and 30% of Hoosic Valley's numbers.

There would be no restrictions as far as fielding a certain amount of players from both teams. The make-up of the team would be at the discretion of the coach following tryouts.