High school football can return in 27 California counties. But can it in Fresno area?
High school football is a step closer to returning in the central San Joaquin Valley.
The state’s Department of Public Health released new guidelines Friday allowing outdoor sports competition to begin Feb. 26 in counties in the purple or red tier with a case rate at or below 14 per 100,000. The new rules apply to all organized youth and adult sports.
At least 27 counties qualify — but only San Luis Obispo County in the Central Section, which governs high school athletics roughly from Chowchilla to Kern County plus the Central Coast and Eastern Sierra.
Several other counties are close to this threshold, with case rates between 14 and 20 per 100,000, including Fresno at 19.8 and Madera at 16.9.
Central Section commissioner Ryan Tos said it is “clearly a positive step forward for all member schools in regards to high school athletics.”
“This guidance provides a pathway for all outdoor sports to return to competition,” Tos said in a statement. “Clearly there are still many obstacles for indoor sports but we will continue to advocate for those student-athletes as the number of cases continue to decrease. This is a great step in the right direction and we are grateful for all of the groups that have been working on behalf of the student athletes.”
Reaction from football coaches
Hoover High football coach Rustin Pickett, who with other high school football coaches lobbied recently for the return of their sport, said Friday’s news is welcome but the “job isn’t finished.”
“We have numbers we need to get to in order to play, but know we can when we reach them,” he added. “We have worked within the restraints of rigorous protocols and I’m confident we can do this.
“Districts and all stakeholders need to come together and stay the course. We owe it to our kids to put them in place to play safely.”
If Central Section football is to be played this spring, the season would need to start by March 26 and end April 17.
“It’s going to take a major investment on the part of our districts to see this thing, through,” Bullard coach Donnie Arax said. “The question is, do we have the will to make it happen? For the sake of our kids, I hope we do.”
Sanger coach Jorge Pena said it is “a very promising news” that football could resume.
“We’re excited and cautiously optimistic at the same the time,” he said. “Playing football will be dependent on a couple of key factors, but we’re confident we can get there. It’s the best news we’ve heard in 11 months, and I’m extremely happy for our kids.”
Some sports in action
Fresno County remains in the purple tier status, which means low-contact high school sports such as cross country, golf, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field are allowed.
Cross country and swimming dual meets have been taking place in the Fresno/Clovis areas.
In Fresno Unified, baseball, softball and lacrosse have began conditioning/practicing, said Brett Mar, the district’s athletic manager. Football and soccer are in the next group of sports to begin.
“Youth sports are important to our children’s physical and mental health, and our public health approach has worked to balance those benefits against COVID-19 risks,” said Dr. Tomás Aragón, the California Department of Public Health director and state public health officer, in a news release. “With case rates and hospitalizations declining across California, we are allowing outdoor competition to resume, with modifications and steps to reduce risk, in counties where case rates are lower.”
Said Gov. Gavin Newsom: “We are now confident with new guidelines we can get youth sports running again. We are confident that if we can resume it will only help enliven the capacity of these kids to feel more engaged, feel more alive, to ... resume activities that are much more positive in terms of their life choices.”
Under the new guidelines, testing for football and water polo will take place weekly for players and coaches where results are available within 24 hours of the game.
Baseball and softball can be played without the testing requirement, state officials said.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 3:59 PM.
