Instead of the Miami Valley League’s leading rusher, Hunter Warner of Fairborn, trying to evade its top tackler, Tipp linebacker Cayd Everhart, the Skyhawks are out this Friday and next while the Red Devils are looking ahead to a Sept. 18 matchup with Troy.
That is because CDC recommendations and state of Ohio guidelines require members of the Skyhawks to quarantine for 14 days as a result of a member of the West Carrollton team Fairborn beat last week testing positive for coronavirus.
“Our primary concerns right now obviously are our own kids but we certainly have a lot of empathy for what is going on at West Carrollton,” Tippecanoe athletic director Kregg Creamer said. “We certainly hope for the best for them in terms of getting back on the field. We feel terribly about Fairborn because we almost view them as collateral damage. They’ve done nothing wrong — and we certainly haven’t done anything wrong — but we’re sitting here kind of as a secondary collateral damage without the ability to play even though we have the ability to play.”
The news at West Carrollton caused a ripple effect. The Pirates' games at Sidney this week and against Xenia next week were both postponed.
Sidney was able to find a new opponent — New Richmond — for Week 3 on short notice, and the Yellow Jackets tentatively have agreed to play Xenia in Week 4 and as previously scheduled in Week 5, though Xenia athletic director Nathan Kopp said that could change.
“The idea was, ‘Let’s play Week 4 before we worry about Week 5,’” Kopp said. "We’ll be ready to pivot or fill in as we need to, but let’s get in as many games on the front end as we can. A league opponent I’m supposed to play had an opening so (Sidney athletic director Mitch Hoying) called me. I said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and communicated with everyone involved to make sure everyone was on the same page.
“We knew there was gonna be a good chance of disruption (at some point in the season) so we were able to move West Carrollton to Week 9 so we are still able to play them since they’re in our league and more specifically in the division.”
Left without a game — barring an unlikely but not entirely impossible last-minute change — this week, Tippecanoe coach Matt Burgbacher said his team will make the best of it after going through their own two-week quarantine in the preseason.
“We always stress to our kids there’s times in life where you do everything right, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. This is one of those moments,” Burgbacher said. “From the time we walked off the field at Greenville last Friday night, our kids have done everything that we’ve asked them to do to prepare. Fairborn was going to be a completely different offense this week from what we’ve seen Weeks 1 and 2, but our kids prepared. They watched film. They had great practices, and then all of a sudden last night at the end of practice I had to let them know we’re not playing this week.”
While far from ideal, an idle week certainly beats the alternative of not having a season at all.
Just as this late-week cancelations or postponements have been on the table since Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine gave clearance for all sports to go on this fall, so was the possibility before that of no games being played this fall.
“There’s been many days over these past six months where we never thought we would be where we are today,” Creamer said. “So our coaches and our kids are working their tails off and are very grateful for the opportunities that we are being given. Certainly we don’t know what the future holds but we feel confident that if we continue doing the things we’re supposed to do, if we put trust into the other schools to do the things they need to do, and the powers that be that are making the ultimate decisions have kids' best interest at heart, then I have all the confidence in the world that we’re gonna continue to keep moving forward.”
Northmont’s Markus Allen de-commits from Michigan https://t.co/CwNQ9gjqbr
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) September 9, 2020
As for games that are happening, Bellbrook-Valley View could be the biggest.
The Golden Eagles and Spartans have had memorable rivalry dating back to the 1990s, and this time around they take 2-0 records into play against each other.
While the Spartans have outscored their first two opponents 79-14, Bellbrook hasn’t allowed a point yet in trouncing Waynesville 48-0 and Franklin 34-0.
Ben Owens of VVHS leads the SWBL in passing with 333 yards while Seth Borondy of BHS is No. 1 in rushing yards with 276.
Longtime rivals will also square off in Centerville, where the Elks will host Wayne in a battle of 1-1 GWOC squads.
That features a pair of talented junior quarterbacks: Chase Harrison of Centerville and Cam Fancher of Wayne.
Elsewhere in the league, Springboro travels to Miamisburg in another game pitting 1-1 teams looking to stay in the top half of the league standings in this truncated season.
The Panthers put a heart-breaking Week 1 loss at Northmont behind them by hanging 77 points on Beavercreek last week while the Vikings are coming off a loss at Wayne.
Springboro’s Moise Amrbruster leads the GWOC in rushing while Vikings Justin Barry and Jackson MaGohan are third in passing and receiving yards, respectively.
To the north, Marion Local and Versailles are set for Midwestern Athletic Conference clash of unbeatens.
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