{"id":392064,"date":"2025-11-20T11:07:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T11:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/392064\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T11:07:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T11:07:19","slug":"section-vi-football-playoffs-face-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/392064\/","title":{"rendered":"Section VI Football playoffs face uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. \u2014 The future of Section VI high school football playoff games is now in question after the Buffalo Bills<\/a> released a statement indicating postseason matchups will not be held at the team\u2019s new stadium\u2014at least for now.<\/p>\n

The Bills said the decision will depend on next season\u2019s NFL schedule and the operational needs of the new stadium, noting in part, \u201cIt will be dependent on the Bills schedule next season and working through the operational process at the new stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many programs across Western New York, playing at Highmark Stadium has long been a cherished tradition\u2014and one that may have ended this fall.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lisa Krueger, superintendent of schools in West Seneca, says last week\u2019s game was especially meaningful, as East Senior High\u2019s student athletes took the field on what could be the final opportunity for any local team to play in the venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have the distinct honor of being one of the last varsity football teams to play at our NFL stadium. We just learned recently that the new stadium will not be hosting high school playoff games, so this is really a distinct honor that our students had to be able to play on the field at Highmark Stadium,\u201d Krueger said.<\/p>\n

Section VI Executive Director Mark DiFilippo said the Bills have made it clear that the organization will need to explore alternative sites for high school playoff games beginning next year.<\/p>\n

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz says he understands the reasoning behind the Bills\u2019 decision, but acknowledges the uncertainty it creates for local teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand why they said they couldn\u2019t commit to it now\u2014they may not be able to commit to it next year,\u201d Poloncarz said. \u201cBut that kind of leaves Section VI sitting, wondering where they’re going to be. I understand why\u2014they\u2019re building a new stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poloncarz noted that the chance to play where the Bills play has long been a motivational milestone for young athletes across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Section VI enjoys playing at the football stadium. It\u2019s a nice treat for the finals for those who make it\u2014hopefully they’ll be able to return to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Section VI officials will begin weighing alternative venues while athletes, coaches, and families wait to learn whether one of Western New York\u2019s most beloved high school traditions can continue in the years ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. \u2014 The future of Section VI high school football playoff games is now in question…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":392065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1232,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-392064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115581710784504689","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}