Del Oro-Granite Bay football game canceled Friday due to positive COVID test
Another day, another blast of hard news for Sacramento-area high school football.
Friday night’s varsity football game between Del Oro and host Granite Bay has been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, the result of a positive test within the Del Oro program, Golden Eagles coach Mike Maben and the school’s athletic director, Geoff Broyles, confirmed to The Bee.
One of the intriguing matchups for this curious spring schedule was the longstanding rivalry meeting between Del Oro and Granite Bay, powerhouse programs within the Sac-Joaquin section. Sierra Foothill League teams play each other twice, unless there are cancellations.
Del Oro’s freshman team also has to quarantine due to a positive test on the roster. The school’s junior varsity team is still scheduled to play Whitney. Granite Bay is not fielding a JV team this spring.
Because Del Oro has to quarantine for 14 days, per policy by the governing CIF and the California Department of Public Health’s youth sports guidelines, the Golden Eagles will not have a March 19-20 game. Canceled games will not be rescheduled as all section football spring seasons must end by April 17, and there are too many challenges to get games played.
The traditional fall season was pushed into the spring months due to the pandemic, but the official confirmation and statewide joy of a spring season came with the tricky hurdle of each player and coach required to get tested and cleared before game day.
On Thursday, it was confirmed that Galt’s varsity game at El Dorado was canceled due to a positive test within Galt’s program, and that Nevada Union’s junior varsity teams would not play at Bear River due to a positive test, though the varsity teams will play at Bear River tonight.
The added jolt to Del Oro is it stalls Maben’s coaching debut and that of assistant coach Randy Fasani, the program’s greatest player. Maben is also a graduate of Del Oro and is a longtime teacher and wrestling coach.
Rocklin’s varsity opener against rival Whitney scheduled for this weekend was scratched on March 2 due to a Whitney positive test, the first reported cancellation.
Update: Granite Bay will play Christian Brothers at 1 p.m. Saturday. Roseville was set to play Christian Brothers tomorrow but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues at the school. The Tigers will have to quarantine for 14 days and their game against Woodcreek set for next week also won’t happen.
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 1:16 PM.