Don't turn in your gear just yet, Gull Lake High School football players. An unlikely source may have salvaged the 2026 season, albeit in an unconventional way.

Nearby Parchment High of Michigan has extended an invite to have players from Gull Lake join forces to form one team under the Parchment banner after Gull Lake canceled its upcoming season due to safety concerns and low numbers related to an alleged assault incident during a team retreat in June that caused Michigan State Police and the school district to launch separate investigations, WZZM News reports.

The proposed one-year cooperative between the two schools was signed off on by both superintendents and is now pending approval by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. 

"I thought about kids losing their junior and senior year and how if that would have happened at my school when I was a student athlete, how it would have affected me for my life," Parchment athletic director Brennan Davis told WZZM. "And I want to extend that opportunity, so we reached out to Gull Lake."

INVESTIGATION PROMPTS COACH TO RESIGN

The alleged assaults, according to Michigan State Police as reported by WWMT News, involved players and occurred at a football camp in Oceana County in late June.

Police reports obtained by WOOD-TV say there is recorded video of three incidents that took place June 23 and 24 at Lake Michigan Family Campground near Pentwater.

In late July, the school district placed Jalon Simpson, who was Gull Lake's head coach at the time the alleged assaults took place, on paid non-disciplinary administrative leave. Simpson resigned last week, the district announced Tuesday.

BOTH SIDES WIN

The proposed co-op would help both schools in the numbers department. Parchment, which has around 400 students, was set to begin its nine-game schedule on August 27 with a roster that was less than 40 players combined for both varsity and JV.

"We would not run this if we were cutting Parchment student-athletes," he said. "They are going to receive more opportunity from this."

Although it remains unclear whether Gull Lake's safety concerns over low participation numbers is connected to the alleged assault investigations, Davis said that any players who are involved in those investigations would not be eligible to play. The two groups of players could begin practice as early as this week if MHSAA gives its approval. 

Gull Lake, which has roughly 1,000 students, is located about 10 miles north of Parchment. Despite the close proximity, the two schools are not in the same league and do not typically play each other, so no rivalry exists. 

Parchment went 3-6 last season. Gull Lake was 0-9 in 2025 and has posted only one winning record over the last 14 seasons.