Superintendents from local schools will meet with the Pima County Health Department Friday afternoon to discuss high school football in Southern Arizona.
The season is in jeopardy before most teams kick off.Β
The health department released a memo Wednesday recommending that schools postpone contact sports competitions and practices until the spread of COVID-19 "has reached minimal levels of community transmission." A statement released by Pima County Health Department Director Theresa Cullen on Friday said that while decisions to play sports "are appropriately and ultimately made by school boards and superintendents for each district," the health department is obliged to provide consultation to public schools. Cullen said contact sports "pose a risk for infection until community transmission is minimal."
One of two local schools already playing football, Salpointe Catholic, is in the middle of a two-week quarantine because of the virus.
"This is the situation we are looking to avoid," Cullen said.
Richard Cunes, 44, collapsed at the team's Sept. 1 practice and has not regained consciousness. His family is raising money to offset his medical bills.
Pima County and the Arizona Interscholastic Association agree that games shouldn't be played until there are minimal levels of community transmission. However, they have different definitions of the term.
The county defines minimal levels as fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 residents in a community. It's a stricter benchmark than the one adopted by the AIA in September, when it ruled that teams could practice and play if there were fewer than 75 cases per 100,000 residents. The AIA initially had a 10-per-100,000 benchmark before loosening its restrictions.
Pima County currently has 54 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the most recent data available from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Those numbers meet the AIA's standard to practice and play but fail well short of the county's benchmark. Pima County figures have hovered between 44 and 67 per 100,000 since August.
Tucson's public schools are scheduled to open their seasons Oct. 30, more than two months after high school football's traditional start date and four weeks after teams in Maricopa, Cochise and Yuma counties began playing.Β
The area's two private, football-playing high schools opened their seasons Oct 2. The county's memo is not expected to affect Salpointe Catholic and Pusch Ridge Christian's ability to continue with their seasons. Salpointe talked with the county last week, when a player's positive COVID-19 test forced the Lancers into a two-week quarantine. Sierra Vista Buena, which plays many of its games against Tucson opponents, has also been playing since Oct. 2.
The county's memo could lead to a postponement or even cancellation of fall football seasons, given that the 10-per-100,000 metric would be all but impossible to reach in time for teams to take part in a regular season and playoffs.
Pima County has had 26,769 cases of COVID-19 since this spring, when the pandemic wiped out high school and college sports. It announced 42 new cases on Friday.
It's unclear if a canceled season would lead to a renewed effort to play this spring. Canyon del Oro High School coach Dustin Peace created a petition this summer requesting that the season move to the new year. Many of Southern Arizona's football coaches, including Pat Nugent (Cienega), Scott McKee (Sahuaro), Ryan McBrayer (Sabino), Matt Johnson (Mountain View), Louie Ramirez (Marana), Glenn Posey (Sunnyside), Jorge Mendivil (Amphitheater), Corey Noble (Walden Grove), George Kelly (Empire), James Hardy (Ironwood Ridge), Justin Argraves (Tucson High), Hunter Long (Douglas), Robert Bonillas (Desert View), Mike Wells (Palo Verde) and Don Watt (Sahuarita), signed it.Β
Instead, Tucson's teams agreed to play six-game fall schedules against all local opponents. Now even that shortened season could be too ambitious.Β
