YOUNGSTOWN — Ursuline High School’s football season is officially over.

The move came Friday afternoon following an announcement by the Youngstown City School District that it canceled its game between Chaney and Ursuline, which was scheduled for Oct. 17 at Stambaugh Stadium.

Ursuline later released this statement:

“We have decided to cancel the remainder of Ursuline’s 2025 football schedule.

“The issues that have been raised with our team have saddened and shaken us. As we have previously reported, disciplinary actions were taken against some students, others left the program or our school entirely before discipline could be imposed, our head coach has been suspended, two assistant coaches are on administrative leave, and we continue to cooperate with investigations of this very serious matter.

“At the same time, we had hoped to continue our season, with dozens of student-athletes, band members, cheerleaders, and other students, along with coaches, parents and others who are not alleged to be involved at all. They simply wanted to play a sport they love, engage in fulfilling achievements or support their loved ones. It became increasingly clear, however, the season could not continue, and therefore, this difficult decision had to be made.

“We also are determined to overcome these challenges and restore faith in our school. As we have for many years, we will continue to offer our efforts and support for the many other student accomplishments in the classroom and our substantial roster of rewarding student activities and service opportunities in our school. Our students continue to achieve impressive results in and out of the classroom.

“Thank you for your understanding and your continued support during these difficult times.”

Ursuline’s decision to cancel its season came after two federal civil-rights lawsuits were filed against the school, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown and members of the school’s administration alleging sexual misconduct and attempted coverups of the alleged events. The first lawsuit was filed by The Chandra Law Firm on Sept. 2, and the second, also filed by Chandra’s firm, was announced Wednesday. Both lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The first lawsuit alleges that members of the Ursuline football team engaged in hazing and sexual assault against a teammate in hotel rooms while on a trip to several southern college football camps over the summer.

As a result, on Monday, Ursuline announced that head football coach Dan Reardon agreed to an indefinite suspension and assistant coaches Tim McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis were placed on administrative leave.

The second lawsuit alleges that a football player took a female student to the ground twice during a summer gym class in June 2023 when they were both freshmen. The football player allegedly also “sexually harassed, stalked and menaced” the female student.

Chaney’s decision to drop Ursuline followed a week-long trend among the Fighting Irish’s opponents.

After the first lawsuit was announced, the Irish canceled their game against Farrell (Pa.), and they had an open week on Friday.

Then the second lawsuit was announced earlier this week.

In response to the second suit, the Warren City Schools released a statement that Warren G. Harding would not play the Irish on Sept. 19. That announcement came on Wednesday, and the decision left just seven games on Ursuline’s schedule, making it ineligible for the postseason unless they reached the required eight-game minimum with a new opponent.

On Thursday, two more teams dropped Ursuline from their schedule. The first was Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, which was set to play the Irish Oct. 3. The second was Austintown Fitch, which was scheduled to face Ursuline Sept. 26.

With the announcement that Chaney wouldn’t play Ursuline, the Irish were only left with two more games to play on their schedule. Walsh Jesuit (Oct. 10) and rival Cardinal Mooney (Oct. 24).

The Akron Beacon Journal reported hours prior to the cancellation of Ursuline’s season that Walsh Jesuit was still discussing whether to play the Irish.

Ursuline was a potential state title contender this season after bringing back one of the top defenses in the state from a year ago. The Irish won their first two games of the year, beating Steubenville 37-7 and Bishop Hartley 34-7 prior to the cancellation of Week 3’s game against Farrell.