There will be a COVID-19 version of scoreboard watching done by a lot of Orange County high school football teams on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
What’s at stake? The green light that says they can finally start their season.
The scoreboard they’ll be watching is actually the state’s website that will post the updated COVID-19 statistics on Tuesday. If the numbers for O.C. are as good as expected, football teams will be eligible to begin conditioning immediately and could play their first game as early as March 11-13.
After months of doubts that there would be a season this year, the sudden change in scenarios was made possible Friday, Feb. 19, when the California Department of Public Health revised its high school sports guidelines. The CDPH decided that outdoor, high-contact sports like football can be played in counties that are in the purple and red tiers if the counties have a case rate at or below 14 per 100,000 people, and if the schools do weekly testing for COVID-19.
Under the previous guidelines, football could only be played in a county that reached the orange tier, which is based on a 2-4.9 percent positivity rate.
As of Friday, the state said the case rate in Orange County was 16. The data in recent days suggest that the county has a good chance to be at 14 or below when the state dashboard is updated Tuesday.
If that happens, teams could hold a conditioning workout Tuesday afternoon and would be able to begin full practices on Friday, Feb. 26, the day when the new guidelines officially kick in. Teams must have 14 practices, including three conditioning days, before playing their first game.
If a team begins its season the week of March 11-13, it could play six games before the season ends April 17, or five games if it plays its opener the week of March 18-20.
There are a few potential obstacles that could delay teams or perhaps end their season despite the new CDPH guidelines. The state’s revised plan must be approved at the county level, and by the school districts and private schools, before teams can start practicing in pads and playing games.
There are several reasons that schools might decide to skip this season, including the fear that the long layoff from team workouts will increase the risk of injuries to the players.
The new testing requirement, for teams that fall in the 14 per 100,000 case-rate category, is also a potential problem area. The state will pay for the testing — antigen or PCR — for every player and coach on a team, but it will be up to each school to conduct the testing until a county falls below a case rate of 7 per 100,000.
The testing requirement has many coaches and school athletic directors concerned. The organization and added responsibility might be too much for some schools to take on, especially on such short notice.
Schools and league representatives are expected to hold meetings this week to discuss the testing requirements.
Orange County might be the only local county to reach the new benchmark on Tuesday. Los Angeles County had a rate of 17.6 on Friday, and San Bernardino County was at 19. Ventura and Riverside counties did not have updated case rates through Friday, but both were a significant distance — 26.2 and 28.8, respectively — away as of Feb. 16.
Teams in the counties that don’t meet the new benchmarks Tuesday, will have to wait until next week to see if they make it. The state updates the online stats every Tuesday.
The CIF-SS said Friday it will be up to each school to decide how many games it will play this season, but the season will end on April 17. The CIF-SS decided not to extend its football season to May 1, although the CIF State made that an option for each section.
The CIF-SS put together breakdowns of possible schedules for teams based on when they are cleared to begin their season. Here is a look at those breakdowns:
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