CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Division II school in Virginia has canceled its 2009 season opener because it doesn't have helmets or football pads.

St. Paul's College has ordered the equipment but it hasn't arrived yet so the school canceled Saturday's game against West Virginia Wesleyan, WE athletic director Ken Tyler said Friday.

Tyler, "flabbergasted" over the decision, says St. Paul's AD Leroy Bacote called him with the news Thursday, less than 24 hours before the Wesleyan team was scheduled to travel to play the game in South Hill, Va.

Bacote declined comment Friday. St. Paul's President Robert L. Satcher Sr. and Leon Kerry, commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, didn't immediately return telephone messages.