Time for prep football

Jeff Larson, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Feb. 26—High school football in March?

Looks like it is going to happen.

Administrators and coaches in the Yuba-Sutter area have been preparing their teams and programs for a football resurgence amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With numbers waning both locally and statewide, California loosened its regulations on the prep sports shutdown last week.

There are teams in the mid valley conditioning right now with the hope that padded practices and games can begin next month.

"Football is allowed to condition right now. They are not allowed to put pads on until we are below (a) 14 case count as determined by the state matrix," Sutter High Athletic Director Rick Giovannoni said in a statement.

Giovannoni said last Tuesday Yuba-Sutter was at 14.7 COVID-19 cases per a population of 100,000.

Yuba was slightly over 15 cases, he said.

Once that magic number is reached, Giovannoni said a more traditional football practice can begin with contact, tackling drills and much more.

While a game schedule has yet to be formally released, he's hoping that Sutter's season opener can be scheduled for March 26.

Under Butte View League guidelines a football season this year will consist of five games happening between March 26 and April 23.

So what will a spring football regular season game look like?

Giovannoni said he wants to keep traditional happenings intact like cheerleaders, a snack bar and some semblance of a crowd.

He said BVL guidelines allow for immediate family and household members to attend games this year.

Giovannoni said he and other local school districts are awaiting further guidance from the county on exact fan capacity.

There will be no Sutter freshman games this year, Giovannoni said, and masks will be mandated for everyone who is not on the field playing the game.

He said players will have school neck gaiters that they can pull on and off and coaches will also be wearing a facial covering.

The sideline will also need to be spaced out, Giovannoni said. When unable to create the allotted space, he said a mask will need to be worn.

"We'll do our best to support that," Giovannoni said.

Sutter varsity football coach Ryan Reynolds, one of the winningest coaches in the Northern Section, is champing at the bit to begin.

"We're passing out gear tomorrow (Thursday)," Reynolds said Wednesday night in a telephone interview.

For Reynolds, he has a pretty good turnout this year despite losing a few players to baseball and other spring sports.

Reynolds said the football program has 70 athletes this year.

His projected starting quarterback, senior Landon Cooper, who helped varsity claim a record 13th title over a year ago, will be suiting up in football and baseball this spring, because it's permitted by the California Interscholastic Federation due to the pandemic.