The football game between Union Mine High School and Douglas of Nevada was canceled Friday afternoon due to concerns of safety tied to rumored protests on the El Dorado campus before or during the contest.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the rumored protest was in response to an arrest made on campus grounds.

“Threats of a protest increased through out the week, with rumor that some expressed the desire to incite violence, including bringing firearms to the school,” the release said. “EDSO School Resource Officers investigated the rumors and found no conclusive evidence to corroborate these threats.”

Union Mine principal Paul Neville posted on the school’s Facebook account that the schools and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office made a collective decision to not play, explaining, in part, “The safety of our students, staff and community is of the utmost importance to the El Dorado Union High School District.

“We would like to thank those individuals who reported these recent concerns and encourage any student or community member to report any behavior, which they feel constitutes a safety risk. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the threat. The safety of our students, staff and community remains a top priority.”

Union Mine coach Chic Bist said he was disappointed for his school, town and players. The game will not go down as a forfeit. It will be listed, simply, as a no contest, an extra bye on the schedule.

“It’s really disappointing because these kids practice all week, and we were going to have a celebration to honor law enforcement and military, to thank them,” Bist told The Bee. “I don’t know much about what’s happened but I think a lot of it is from social media (with threats), and social media has just ruined a lot of this.”

Officers said that they are “not aware of any threats to the community or schools.”