Following a community meeting that saw dozens of parents and players pack the large group instruction room at Hoosic Valley High School on Wednesday night, the administration and school board have officially decided to reinstate the varsity football team for the upcoming season. 
    The meeting was called after school officials informed the team on Tuesday that they would be forced to cancel the season due to low numbers. Hoosic Valley's varsity football team was forced to forfeit the final two games of the 2012 season because of injuries and number issues as well. 
    The school board had originally decided to attempt to field a football team again in June, citing 38 students who had signed up as potentially interested athletes. However, when officials were given a roster earlier this week that showed only 29 players, there was concern over the number and whether or not freshman would be playing at a varsity level. 
    However, during Wednesday's meeting an up-to-date team roster was presented to school officials, showing 31 players on the team - the majority of whom are actually upperclassmen. That, coupled with outcry from the community at cancelling the entire season, forced the school administration to reexamine its original decision. 
    “The board is going to review the numbers and the decision to keep safety in mind,” interim superintendent Amy Goodell said on Wednesday night. “We wanted to get the input from all the constituents and it looks like the roster has changed, so we’ll take that into consideration as well.”
    The Indians were able to continue practicing during the week and will have enough players and enough practice-time to compete in their Week 1 matchup against Whitehall.