CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Van High School won't play football this fall due to a depleted roster and coach Bob Mullett predicts the Boone County school may never see a team suit up again.

"To lose it is like losing a piece of myself," Mullett said. "It's going to be sadly missed."

The decision was difficult but necessary after 11 players showed up for the first day of summer conditioning last week and 10 the next day. County schools executive director Steve Bradley said officials wanted to give teams on Van's schedule enough time to find other opponents.

School officials blamed the problem on a small pool of available athletes. The eligibility of several players was already in question for this season.

Van is one of the smallest schools in Class A, West Virginia's smallest division. The Bulldogs appeared in the state playoffs 10 times over the past three decades, but not since 2003.

The 120-student school lost several players from last season due to academics and graduation. Van's junior high did not field a team last year.

Mullett said families have been steadily moving out of Van into nearby Madison and communities along U.S. 119. Filling rosters has been a problem for nearly every sport at Van for more than a decade, he said.

Canceled seasons have occurred at small schools before. Earlier this decade, Greater Beckley Christian fielded a football team for two years. In girls basketball, a lack of players prompted four-time defending Class A champion Mercer Christian to cancel its games early in the 2003-04 season.

Bradley said Van's situation will be re-evaluated next year. Mullett doubts the team will be back because the roster sizes just aren't there, especially on the middle-school level.

"I would hope so, but I don't think so," Mullett said. "These kids are going to leave and play somewhere else."

As many as six current players are interested in other schools such as Sherman or Scott, he said.

But Ray Londeree, assistant executive director of the Secondary School Activities Commission, said players in grades 10 through 12 can only transfer into a school district where their parents live, while incoming freshmen can transfer without penalty.

"They just can't decide 'I want to go over to Sherman' or 'I want to go over to Scott,'" Londeree said. However, "there's an appeals process for those students who've had a hardship created."

Now it's up to Van's opponents to scramble for a replacement and some hope to schedule each other. Williamson coach Doug Ward said Tuesday he plans to contact Paden City, Van's opening weekend opponent.

"I looked at this in advance," Ward said. "I really hate that for them. They've had such a strong program at Van over the years. It's just a numbers thing that we all deal with. Football is not for everybody."

Mullett, who was in his second stint at Van and has coached at several high schools and colleges, said he'll immediately begin looking for new work.

He served as the new director of the annual North-South state all-star football game earlier this month and plans to continue with that event.

"I don't want to quit football," he said. "I want to be active. Hopefully next week I'll be knocking on some doors."