A top-10 matchup in Colorado high school football has been canceled this week because of coronavirus.
No. 3 Columbine and No. 8 Ralston Valley will not play their game scheduled for Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex after a Rebels’ student-athlete tested positive this week for COVID-19, Columbine athletic director Patrick Simpson confirmed to The Denver Post.
Columbine (4-0) will count the game as no-contest while the football coaching staff and the majority of varsity players are currently under quarantine orders. The team expects a return to football practice on Wednesday of next week before resuming its season two days later on Nov. 13 against Mullen.
“None of the boys have symptoms or are feeling poorly at the present and coaches are doing great,” Simpson said.
Ralston Valley (3-1) is currently searching for a new opponent to play this week. It’s a familiar situation for athletic director Jim Hynes, who scrambled in mid-October to find a new Week 1 opponent after Douglas County backed out due to pandemic quarantine requirements. Ralston Valley (5A) eventually settled on a lopsided matchup with Class 3A Battle Mountain.
CHSAA provides a spreadsheet for schools across the state to access to help schools like Ralston Valley find last-minute opponents.
“For it to all work out, there needs to be an even number of teams who are displaced by COVID quarantine, and right now, there is an odd number of teams,” Simpson said. “As I understand it, there are five teams that have lost a game this week. Four of them have been able to match up, and right now, we’re the odd one out.”
