As high school football season prepares to kick off, COVID causes 2 more cancellations
%20(1).JPG "The Galt High School varsity and the Nevada Union junior varsity teams had to cancel season openers on Friday due to COVID-19 protocols.")
This is what coaches, players, school administrators and parents dreaded the most amid the feel-good momentum of the return of high school football: positive test results.
Due to COVID-19 protocols after a positive test within the program, the Galt High School varsity football team had to cancel its spring football opener on Friday at El Dorado in Placerville. The news was equally glum for members of the Nevada Union junior varsity team. It had a positive test within the program this week and had to cancel its Friday opener at Bear River in Lake of the Pines.
The Galt and El Dorado junior varsity teams will play as scheduled at 5 p.m., and the varsity teams from Nevada Union and Bear River will play Friday as scheduled.
Prep football was pushed from its traditional fall schedule into the spring months due to the pandemic. Just getting any games in will be an achievement, given the myriad challenges of making it all work, though coaches and players stress that it’s worth the headaches.
Chief among the challenges is testing. This is all new and on-the-fly learning for all involved. The state of California covers the cost. Players and coaches from each football team must produce negative COVID-19 results before competing in games. Teams that have a positive test must quarantine for 10 days.
Canceled games will not be rescheduled, as schools attempt to squeeze a four- or five-game schedule in this month and next, along with other sports on campus. Testing is required for high-contact sports such as football, but if COVID-19 numbers continue to trend down to a 7 per 100,000 ratio, testing will not be required, all the more reason for coaches and team captains to stress to anyone around them to mask up.
“I know this is hard on everyone, players and parents, but we have to be patient, and I know people are tired of hearing that, but it’s true,” Nevada Union varsity football coach Brad Sparks said. “We don’t know what will happen. We really don’t know how many games any of us will play. Some may have to reschedule for Saturdays because of a shortage of referees and we all have to deal with eligibility and academics as we’re all trying to fit in what we would do in three months (in a normal year) into three weeks.”
Sparks is an optimist. Most coaches are. He said good perspective includes having a chance to even play football when it seemed bleak to worse weeks ago.
“Four weeks ago, I would have told you that we had a 20% chance to have any games this spring,” Sparks said. “And here we are, with kickoffs on Friday. I feel bad for the teams that can’t play.”
Nevada Union’s JV team expects to be ready for a March 19 game against rival Placer. The Galt varsity and JV teams are scheduled to play at Bradshaw Christian on March 19.
A canceled game for a regional program is not new this odd spring. The Whitney varsity program had to quarantine for 10 days after a positive test on the roster from March 2, leading to a cancellation of an opener against rival Rocklin. Whitney now opens at Oak Ridge on March 20 and is scheduled to play Rocklin on April 16 in a season finale.
There will be no playoffs for any high school sports this academic year — there simply isn’t enough time to get it all in. That’s why coaches and players are all the more determined to get spring games in without a hitch.