Prep football rankings: Coaches navigate chaos of COVID-19 testing in scramble mode
It is now wise for high school football programs to post schedules with an asterisk that indicates “Subject to change.”
This is the new usual because a scheduled game can be scratched in an instant amid the chaos and confusion of mandatory COVID-19 testing for players and coaches to even get games in. One positive test can sideline an entire team, per contact-tracing protocols. Whitney, Roseville, Del Oro, Galt and Nevada Union all canceled games for opening week. (In NU’s case, it was the junior varsity team.)
But the interpretation of contact tracing and if it’s a 10-day or 14-day quarantine for one or all adds to the confusion. Football programs are now making extra sure to videotape practices to help better determine if a player was in contact with someone for long stretches of time, if there’s a positive test later, thus the reasoning for an entire team to sit out a game.
This has plagued Del Oro already, the storied program in Loomis that geared up for weeks to open the spring season against rival Granite Bay, only to have Friday’s game scratched due to a positive test.
Del Oro parents and boosters since then have challenged school administration, and those within the Placer Union School District, with a flood of emails and calls asking for better clarification. They’re also wondering how other programs in Placer County were able to play with a single negative test, according to parents.
The Bee could not confirm positive tests from other programs because coaches and administrators are not talking about it. Del Oro entered Monday thinking it would not have a game this week due to quarantine measures, but by late Monday, that had changed after further clarifiation. So, Del Oro plays Rocklin on Friday. Granite Bay got a game in, filling in at the 11th hour to play Christian Brothers on Saturday because Roseville could not play because of a positive test.
“It’s chaos and we all wait around hoping for negative test results,” Granite Bay coach Jeff Evans said.
Said Oakmont of Roseville coach Tim Moore, whose team was cleared to play its opener against Ponderosa, “We’re all on pins and needles. Your heart races as you wait to see if everyone’s good to go.”
At Casa Roble, coach Chris Horner suddenly feels like a chemist, part of the testing chain of players and coaches. Each week is a nerve-wracker, “and all you can do is hope for the best,” he said.
On the theme of being flexible, Casa Roble’s home opener for this Friday was moved to Saturday due to a shortage of referees.
On the theme of rampant speculation, several people reached out to The Bee insisting that Oak Ridge and Folsom had a number of positive tests and yet still played Saturday night. This is not true, according to the coaches from those schools, and both had more testing done the morning of the game.
Back to Roseville High. Tigers coach Adam Reinking was hopeful of playing rival Woodcreek on Friday in the annual Junction Bowl. This is how fluid things go. Early Monday, in a text to The Bee, Reinking said the Tigers “will have a game. After reviewing our practice schedule, it was determined that we did not exceed the consecutive minute threshold for close contact. So we will get back all quarantined players and be able to play.”
Later, Reinking said he got a call from his administration detailing how the school brass will meet this week with local public health officials to be sure, meaning, “so we may be off again. At this point, I guess we are still up in the air.” Then it was confirmed: no game for Roseville as it continues full quarantine.
In a word: Madness.
No. 3 vs. No. 4, then not
The spring’s first showdown game was as good as expected when previously No. 2 ranked Folsom edged top-ranked Oak Ridge 23-18 on Friday in the day’s most dramatic finish. Tyler Tremain led the late 90-yard drive, hitting national recruit receiver Rico Flores with the game-winning touchdown with 1:04 to go to cap a sparkling varsity debut.
The teams flip flop in The Bee’s rankings with Folsom now No. 1 and Oak Ridge No. 2 (if teams are going to play, we’re going to rank them).
This week’s rankings showdown as of late Monday afternoon was No. 3 Monterey Trail at No. 4 Rocklin, and then not. Rocklin is now playing Del Oro, the original plan, and Monterey Trail is now playing at Woodcreek. Welcome to scramble mode spring.
Why Jesuit-Rocklin was a scrimmage
An opening week intrigue contest was Jesuit at Rocklin, a game that became a scrimmage due to a greatly reduced practice day that was needed to qualify for a game. Teams have to have at least 10 padded practice days to be cleared for a game, though teams can still scrimmage.
Jesuit athletic director Hank Weinberger said that on March 10, the Marauders barely had a practice. Players hit the field for 10 minutes before rain, thunder and lightning took over. Players then watched film for two hours in the gym. They tried again to practice in pads, but there was more lightning and schools are urged to not take on those elements.
“We had a ton of hail and then that lightning, and I’m not taking on lightning,” Weinberger said. “I could not in good faith say that 20 minutes of practice was enough to call it a real practice. So we changed it to a scrimmage. We did what we felt was the right thing.”
Jesuit’s first actual game is Saturday at home against powerhouse St. Mary’s of Stockton, which lost 35-27 at next-level powerhouse De La Salle of Concord 35-27, allowing 609 yards of offense and surrendering six sacks. De La Salle’s unbeaten streak, including ties, against teams north of Fresno is 311 since 1992.
Reunion moment
Saturday’s Sacramento at Natomas game brought together old friends tied to their Capital Christian days and included pregame hugs and more hugs.
Sac High coach Justin Reber delighted in seeing Natomas coaches Spencer Hagan and Justin Jones, and there was Suzanne Baker, the one-time and forever beloved Capital Christian athletic director and girls basketball coach. She is now the AD for the Natomas Unified School District.
Sacramento won 26-7, pouncing on seven Natomas turnovers. The Dragons started seven sophomores and four freshmen, a lot of them in the trenches, “so we struggled at times but this will be great for the future,” Reber said. Senior running back Keysean Gooding rushed for 144 yards and a score, freshman Iamar Radcliffe ran for two scores and freshman cousin Corie Radcliffe had five tackles and played every snap on the offensive line.
The real moving moment was before the kickoff when Sacramento’s seniors held a banner to honor their fallen teammate, Jaylen Betschart, who in October was shot and killed while driving.
THE BEE’S TOP 25
1. Folsom (1-0)
2. Oak Ridge (0-1)
3. Monterey Trail (0-0)
4. Rocklin (0-0)
5. Cosumnes Oaks (0-0)
6. Inderkum (0-1)
7. Elk Grove (0-0)
8. Granite Bay (1-0)
9. Jesuit (0-0)
10. Capital Christian (0-0)
11. Lincoln (1-0)
12. Placer (0-1)
13. Del Oro (0-0)
14. Davis (0-0)
15. Vista del Lago (0-0)
16. Vacaville (0-0)
17. Roseville (0-0)
18. Christian Brothers (0-1)
19. Sacramento (1-0)
20. Whitney (0-0)
21. Oakmont (1-0)
22. Pleasant Grove (0-0)
23. Antelope (0-0)
24. Yuba City (0-0)
25. Casa Roble (0-0)
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Amador (1-0), Bear River (0-1), Bradshaw Christian (0-0), Center (0-0), Colfax (0-0), Del Campo (0-0), Dixon (0-0), East Nicolaus (0-0), El Camino (0-0), Foothill (0-0), Franklin (0-0), Golden Sierra (0-0), Grant (0-0), Highlands (0-0), Laguna Creek (0-0), Oakmont (1-0), Nevada Union (5-6), Ponderosa (0-1), Rio Linda (0-0), River Valley (0-0), Rosemont (0-0), Sheldon (0-0), Union Mine (0-1), Vanden (0-0), Winters (0-0), Woodland (0-0).
SPRING FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
All games 7-7:30 p.m., unless noted
(subject to change due to COVID-19 testing)
Friday
Sacramento at Christian Brothers
Inderkum at Bella Vista
Cordova at Natomas
Monterey Trail at Woodcreek
Del Oro at Rocklin
Folsom at Granite Bay
Center at Colfax
Vacaville at Davis
Foothill at Del Campo
Winters at Dixon
Vista del Lago at El Camino
Bear River at Foresthill
Johnson at Kennedy
Lincoln at Oakmont
Woodland at Pioneer
Nevada Union at Placer
Rio Linda at Ponderosa
El Dorado at Rosemont
Vanden at Wood
Saturday
St. Mary’s at Jesuit, 3 p.m.
Whitney at Oak Ridge, 2 p.m.
Mesa Verde at Casa Roble, 7 p.m.
* email jdavidson@sacbee.com for additions and corrections
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.