New SC High School League COVID-19 plan threatens exciting parts of football season
The most exciting high school football games in the 2020 season could be taken out of the picture.
The earliest a game will be played will be Sept. 11, the South Carolina High School League’s executive committee agreed by vote on Wednesday. This best-case scenario — approved in an attempt to still have a fall sports season despite surging coronavirus positive cases across the state — threatens to cut some of the most widely-anticipated games scheduled by schools in The Herald’s coverage area.
The two that come immediately to mind:
- Clover’s season-opener against 2019’s Upper State Champion, Dorman.
- South Pointe’s across-the-Carolinas-border matchup with Myers Park in Bank of America Stadium, planned for Sept. 4.
SCHSL Commissioner Jerome Singleton said that if everything goes to plan, the first official football practice can start Aug. 17, and the first game can be scheduled for Sept. 11. The last regular season game would be Oct. 23, which will then be followed by four rounds of football playoffs ending in a state championship game Nov. 20.
Singleton clarified that one of this plan’s strengths is its “fluidity,” acknowledging that the start date can be pushed back up to two weeks — meaning that the latest date that the state football championship to take place under this plan is Dec. 4.
This plan also can be modified as more information about the coronavirus and its presence in South Carolina comes available, Singleton said. As of Tuesday afternoon, York County has recorded 1,986 positive COVID-19 cases, a number that rises daily. South Carolina has witnessed over 980 people die because of the virus since the pandemic began in March.
“This plan provides flexibility,” Singleton said.
What does the new football season look like?
Singleton said the SCHSL encourages its football teams to play its region games first and then play non-region games afterward, ensuring that a complete region standing can be made and used for selecting who gets a bid into the playoffs.
“Most regions, if not all regions, declare their playoff qualifiers through region play,” Singleton said.
“All we ask is, ‘Who is going to the playoffs? And in what order?’”
This structure, of course, threatens some of the best games on the high school football calendar for schools in The Herald’s coverage area, including the two aforementioned.
Clover’s season-opener against Dorman was going to be a rematch of a heart-thumping playoff game last season, when the Cavaliers won after a field goal in the final minute, 45-42.
South Pointe’s game in Bank of America stadium, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, was going to make history. The Stallions of Rock Hill and Myers Park of Charlotte were going to play in the first-ever high school football game at Bank of America Stadium. The game had originally offered exciting prospects for South Pointe players, coaches, fans and the larger Rock Hill community — which soon will welcome the Panthers’ headquarters and practice facility to an undeveloped site off I-77 between Cherry Road and Dave Lyle Boulevard.
In theory, those games could be rescheduled for after region play. But such a move is unlikely.
South Pointe head coach Devonte Holloman and Clover head coach Brian Lane were not immediately available for comment.
There are other exciting games that might be cut from teams’ schedules, too. Among them: Catawba Ridge’s first series against cross-town neighbors Nation Ford and Fort Mill; York and Clover’s longtime rivalry; and others.
SCHSL plan for the rest of July
It’s also important to note that schools are still allowed to continue summer workouts. A motion brought to suspend summer workouts across the state failed in SCHSL executive committee on Wednesday.
In other words, as of Wednesday and until further notice, schools that still wish to have summer workouts must comply with the Phase 1 requirements that they’ve been following since the beginning of summer workouts since early June — which includes practicing social distancing, not sharing sport-specific equipment, coaches wearing masks, a maximum of a 10-person “pod” occupying each facility at a time and other standards.
Last week, The Herald confirmed that all of the schools in the Tri-County are still hosting summer workouts.
Singleton mentioned the possibility of moving toward a “Phase 1.5” on Wednesday, but said that those prospects are still weeks away. Some highlights of Phase 1.5 include expanding the number of players who can work out together to 15 instead of nine, and allowing for the use of sport-specific equipment (footballs, volleyballs, etc.).
“As we get information about the virus, and how it’s spreading, we may be able to put some subtle things in place so we’re still able to (have summer workouts),” Singleton said. “That’s why we made (this plan) fluid, so we have the opportunity to make some adjustments as we go along.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
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