The football game between Kirkland’s Juanita High School and Sammamish High School scheduled for tonight has been canceled.

The Rebels were slated to host the Totems at Juanita High School at 7 p.m. but Sammamish has been forced to forfeit the contest for undisclosed reasons.

“It is an unfortunate situation as we always look forward to home games and the opportunity for memories that come with them,” said Steve Juzeler, Juanita High School Athletics Director.

Sammamish informed Juanita High School that the team did not have enough healthy players and felt the situation would be unsafe to proceed with the game.

“Safety is our paramount concern,” Juzeler said. “[We are] disappointed in the opportunities lost for stakeholders including players, younger players that may have received some Friday night playing time, fans and the ASB revenue loss in ticket sales and concessions.”

The Cancer Awareness Pink Night that was to take place as part of the festivities against Sammamish have been moved to the Oct. 17 game against Newport High School.

Juanita will travel to Bellevue High School for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 10 in a battle of unbeaten teams in 3A KingCo.

“We thank the parents and family members who came from out of town and the supportive football community,” Juzeler said. “We hope you will join Juanita in supporting the safety of all student athletes- not just from Juanita and the LWSD, but from all KingCo and WIAA schools.”