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As JSerra’s second-half rally peaked and a season-opening football victory appeared secure, a group of nuns from the Catholic school dashed from their spot along the sideline toward the Lions’ student section behind the end zone.

The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist soon joined the excitement last Friday by extending their hands for a series of high-fives as Lion Nation roared with approval.

Similar interactions have unfolded on the Orange County football scene the past few weeks, begging the question:

Does this feel like a non-pandemic season?

“It feels like one except we’ve had a couple guys over the summer get COVID and not be there,” Cypress football coach Rick Feldman said. “It feels like a regular season. Hopefully we stay healthy.”

The signs of normalcy extend beyond the joyous high-fives and shoulder-to-shoulder seating in the student sections.

Facial coverings are less visible at football games compared to the past two seasons.

And heading into the second week of the season, Orange County hasn’t seen a game canceled due to COVID-19, Paul Caldera, the area’s assignor for officials, said Wednesday,

Masks and the rescheduling or cancellation of games were prominent parts of high school football in 2021.

“No Orange County football games have been canceled due to COVID so far this season,” Caldera said. “Some (lower-level) games have been canceled due to players not having enough practice days in.”

The latest health guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) states that “COVID-19 is here to stay” but schools can “manage this disease in sustainable and adaptive manners.”

The CDPH recommends that eligible individuals receive a COVID-19 vaccination but doesn’t require masks to be worn at schools.

The agency also recommended that students and staff should be tested for COVID-19 before returning to school after long breaks such as summer. Individuals who test positive are recommended by the CDPH to stay home at least five days.

“We’re still going to be smart,” Yorba Linda football coach Jeff Bailey said. “We advise you that if you have symptoms, you should probably stay home because we don’t want the whole team to get it.”

The state also is monitoring another foe in monkeypox, a viral disease that includes symptoms such as a fever and rash.

“We continue to see very low transmission of the virus in the general population, including children,” the CDPH stated this week. “Transmission continues to occur through close or intimate contact with persons with (moneypox).”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that monkeypox can also spread by “touching contaminated objects,” fabrics and surfaces. The agency recommends maintaining “routine cleaning and disinfection practices.”

It was only two years ago when the pandemic forced the football season to be moved from the fall to the spring of 2021, and that season did not include any playoffs. But as the scenes at stadiums across the county showed last week, Orange County is looking like more like itself.

“It definitely feels more normal,” Cypress senior wide receiver Matthew Morrell said, “being around my teammates every day and just getting after it on the field and in the weight room and not worrying too much about COVID or guys not being able to play.”

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