By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Heading into the 2020 high school football season, every school knew that the threat of COVID-19 would loom large over the year.
For many schools across the state of Kansas, things have proceeded without any issues, but for others, the season has come to a halt, with many questions remaining about the future.
The two area schools hit the hardest by this have been Abilene and Chapman. Neither team has played a game since the two met on September 18th, although the circumstances surrounding the stoppage have nothing to do with that game.
South High School also missed their game last week against Derby due to issues at Derby high school, but will be back in action this Friday to visit Maize.
The issues at Abilene and Chapman have been very similar. Both teams had taken great precaution to follow KSHAA guidelines in order to keep their players safe.
When the first cases started to trickle into Chapman High School, head coach Kurt Webster took those a step further, spreading his players out in the weight room, and taking extra precautions to try and keep his team safe and on the field.
“I feel like we’re one of the programs that’s taken the most steps to do things the right way,” he said. “I hope we get things under control soon because we’ve got some guys who really deserve a chance to play.”
Despite both coaches' best efforts, positive tests at Abilene and Chapman caused both schools to transition to remote learning, and effectively removed both team’s chances to play last week.
Due to regulations, both teams will also be unable to return to the field this week or next, shortening their schedules to a maximum of five regular season games.
Despite the complications this has caused, the players have stayed locked in, as both teams have been able to meet and review film over zoom, and participate in individual workouts at home.
In addition to keeping players fit physically during the hiatus, both coaches also stressed the importance of having players with the right mentality to stay focused on football.
“This group is so resilient and they really want to get better,” Nicks said. “It’d be really easy for some of these guys to start thinking about basketball season but they aren’t, they’re ready to go.”
While many focus on the downside of this time off, both coaches noted that when they do return to play, their players will be well rested which could help them secure a few key wins down the stretch.
If everything at Abilene and Chapman comes under control as both schools hope it does, both teams will be back in action on October 16th.
The Cowboys are slated to play Augusta at home on that day while the Fighting Irish would host Council Grove.
For coach Webster and the Irish, the outlook on this whole situation is very simple.
“If we want those games back we’ll just have to make a deep playoff run and get our nine games in,” he said.