Prep football: Fresno, Clovis, Madera districts cancel all Friday home games over poor air quality

Fresno, Clovis and Madera unified school districts canceled all home high school football games scheduled for Friday, the latest impact of hot, smoky conditions on Central Section sports.

The largest high school girls tennis tournament in the nation, set for Friday and Saturday at sites around Fresno and Madera counties, also was canceled.

“Poor air quality continues to present a hazard,” Kelly Avants, the district’s chief communication officer, announced. “In addition to football, all outdoor activities have been canceled, kindergarten through 12th grade on Clovis Unified campuses. In cases where teams have traveled to participate in activities at other school sites, district officials are working with the hosting school district to determine whether to postpone or cancel activities.”

Clovis Unified’s decision wiped out the California Tennis Classic, a 116-team tournament that was to be held at 23 sites Friday and Saturday. The event got its 8:30 a.m. matches in Friday before conditions worsened, prompting two delays and eventually the cancellation of the rest of tournament.

The announcement came soon after Madera Unified said it was canceling two home football games. Reedley High at Madera and the Madera South game at Liberty-Madera Ranchos both were called off, part of a districtwide ban on outdoor activities.

The Liberty-Bakersfield at Central game was moved to a 7:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff at Koligian Stadium.

Bullard’s game against state eighth-ranked Grant-Sacramento was shifted from McLane Stadium on Friday night to Grant at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Grant’s school district doesn’t offer weekend busing, therefore, the Pacers of the Sac-Joaquin Section – 14-1 a year ago – are unable to come to Fresno.

Hoover’s game at Memorial was moved to the teams’ bye week of Oct. 2. Fresno Unified also canceled its middle school games scheduled for Saturday.

The Kingsburg-Washington rivalry game at Easton was called off and will not be rescheduled, as were the Corcoran at Yosemite, Fowler at Sierra and Kerman at Coalinga games.

Minarets High canceled all outdoor activities, including its home football game against Mariposa.

Earlier in the week, amid signs that air quality would only worsen, some schools had moved to delay kickoffs until 8 or 8:30 p.m. to take advantage of cooling temperatures.

Friday kickoffs moved to 8 p.m. included Clovis at Atwater, Hanford at Dinuba, King City at Hanford West, Immanuel at Chowchilla, Farmersville at Woodlake and Sunnyside at Mt. Whitney. Shafter’s home game against Selma was pushed to 8:30 p.m., as was Monache against El Diamante. Sierra Pacific beat Riverdale 41-14 Thursday in a game that was pushed back to 8 p.m.

Games in Tulare and Kings counties were scheduled to be played.

Visalia Unified, via Twitter, referred to its air quality policy posted online. Like other school districts, VUSD says it works with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to determine “the amount of outdoor activity that is allowable under each condition.”

“Conditions may change suddenly, so we closely monitor the air quality throughout the school day and receive alerts whenever the air changes from one level to another,” the policy states.

Air quality in the central San Joaquin Valley, already usually affected by hot early September temperatures, is being further reduced by the Rough Fire burning in the Sierra Nevada east of Fresno. That blaze grew by nearly 10,000 acres Thursday to more than 119,000 acres in Sierra National Forest, Sequoia National Forest and Kings Canyon National Park.

Farther north, the Capital Christian-Sacramento game at Amador was rescheduled for Monday, according to The Sacramento Bee’s Joe Davidson, with all revenue going to player families in need of relief.

Bulldogs soccer postponed

Fresno State’s women’s nonconference soccer match with Pacific Friday night at Bulldog Stadium was also postponed because of poor air considerations. A make-up date hasn’t been determined.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to play at Sacramento State at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Fresno State Invitational cross country meet went on as scheduled Friday morning at Woodward Park. Stanford, San Jose State and seven other schools took part.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Prep football: Fresno, Clovis, Madera districts cancel all Friday home games over poor air quality."