Six teams will not play football this fall, due to the spread of the coronavirus. Here’s a look at them.
PUBLIC
Calhoun County (Region 1): Located in southwest Georgia, the county’s numbers have remained relatively high since May. While just two residents have died since then, increasing the total from five to seven, the number of confirmed cases has grown from 126 to 220, and the number of confirmed cases per 100,000 residents has grown from 1,995 to 3,483.
The Cougars were 2-8 last season and have not had a winning season since 2014 (8-4), the last time they made the state playoffs. They also have not had back-to-back winning seasons since a four-season stretch from 1990-1993.
Stewart County (Region 5): The Royal Knights shut down their football program and all fall sports on August 6. New head coach and athletic director Calvin Thomas released a statement that said: “With safety at the forefront of our decision, we as a district and community decided to cancel all of our fall sports due to COVID-19 and the increasing coronavirus cases in our area. Parents expressed their concerns and gave valuable input through surveys, along with phone calls and texts. The safety of our kids and community is top priority and we did not want to put any of them in any uncompromising situations.”
Stewart County, which had been moved to Region 5, is the smallest football-playing school in Class A. Last season, the team finished with a record of 1-9.
Twiggs County (Region 7): The school reopened under an all-virtual model on Monday. The decision to cancel football and all extracurricular activities was made by principal Jamal Harris on July 30. At the time, he told Todd Holcomb of Georgia High School Football Daily and the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Football was included in the no extracurricular activities. It was a hard decision and we didn’t want to go that route, but in talking with the board of education, they voted that if the students are not going to school, they didn’t believe they should have extracurricular activities.”
The Cobras finished 1-9 last season.
PRIVATE
Our Lady of Mercy (Region 2): The Bobcats shut down their football program last week. OLM finished 0-10 last season, extending their losing streak to 21 games.
Pinecrest Academy (Region 6): The Paladins will play in an eight-man football league this season in the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools (GAPPS), due to low participation numbers in the program.
When new head coach Shawn Coury took over in May, he had commitments from just 12 players who said they were definitely going to play. But instead of shutting down the program, Coury found another option after the players and their families expressed an interest in playing this season.
The upcoming eight-man season is a stepping stone to rebuilding the Pinecrest program, which has gone 7-23 the last three seasons. We’ll take an in-depth look at c Coury and the Paladins next week.
Riverside Military Academy (Region 8): For the first time since 1916, Riverside will not have a football season. The school made the decision to cancel fall sports back in May, after the Georgia High School Football Association shut down all athletic activity due to the initial spread of coronavirus.
At the time, the school released this statement:
Having a safe and a healthy fall season requires substantial planning, writing of contracts, and early equipment purchases all of which would be binding even if the season remains banned by GHSA.
Accordingly, fall interscholastic athletics at RMA are cancelled for the 2020-21 academic year. We are planning for limited winter and spring sports in anticipation that the ban will ease at a point that provides enough time for us to execute appropriately. However, similar to the fall season, if GHSA continues its ban beyond our winter/spring decision points, those seasons may be cancelled as well.
We plan to move forward with a robust schedule of intramural competition which will give cadets at the middle and high school levels the opportunity to participate in sports, though at an intramural level.
The decision cost Riverside its best player, and one of the best athletes in school history. ATH Shad Dabney announced in June that he planned to transfer to Class 3A Cherokee Bluff. Dabney, who is also a top basketball player, lined up at quarterback, running back, receiver, defensive back and as a kick returner in football. He accounted for more than 2,000 total yards and scored 16 touchdowns for the Eagles. He reportedly holds nearly 30 scholarship offers.
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