Stewart County, a small Class A school 30 miles south of Columbus, has become the third Georgia high school to cancel fall sports because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With safety at the forefront of our decision, we as a district and community decided to cancel all of our sports due to COVID-19 and the increasing coronavirus cases in our area,” athletic director and football coach Calvin Thomas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “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 an uncompromising situations.”
The Georgia High School Association lists Stewart County as having 106 students in data used for the 2020-21 reclassification, making it the smallest GHSA school to field a football team last year.
The Knights had 27 players on their 2019 roster and finished 1-9. They would’ve played this season in Region 5-A Public with Central of Talbotton, Chattahoochee County, Greenville, Macon County, Manchester, Marion County, Schley County and Taylor County.
Stewart County was part of Stewart-Quitman High until 2008, when Quitman County reopened its own school.
Two other Class A schools, Riverside Military Academy in May and Twiggs County in July, also canceled fall sports. Pinecrest Academy, a Class A private school, opted out of its GHSA schedule to play eight-man football in another association.
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