For those wondering if football would be played at Riverside Park this fall — the answer is yes.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) executive board voted Tuesday, 5-4, to leave the fall sports schedule in place.
Of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., 27 made no changes to their fall sports seasons while 24 had modified them and six had moved fall football to the spring, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
For senior quarterback Bradyn Cole, the worry of losing out on his final season to compete for the blue and gold was a reality.
“We thought we might get pushed to the spring, and have to choose between baseball and football,” Cole said. “We know baseball is a big priority to our school, so we didn’t know how many we would have out for football.”
Mustangs head football coach David Daugharthy said he thought allowing sports to be played was the right call.
“It is pretty exciting,” Daugharthy said. “I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, and it is probably the same way for the kids. They have been working hard and they deserve to play.”
While excited about the upcoming season, Daugharthy said he knows COVID-19 is a threat to his athletes’ safety and that he and his staff are coming up with ways to make sure they feel safe.
“We as a coaching staff have been talking about precautions we could take, like splitting the team up and having as much distance as possible,” Daugharthy said. “We are going to try and space out the locker room, and try different dressing locations. We are trying to keep everything as safe as possible, but obviously it is still a concern.”
KSHSAA is yet to come up with answers on how to go about things if a player tests positive for COVID-19. Will players be forced to quarantine for two weeks if a teammate tests positive?
“I don’t know,” Daugharthy said. “Like how does it work during district play? There are just so many unanswered questions.”
Surely, KSHSAA will come up with these answers in the coming weeks, but for now, coaches are left in limbo.
“It is frustrating, and it is tough to sell a kid on the program,” Daugharthy said. “We are trying to build a playoff caliber team, and that might be swept from underneath us.”
The Mustangs will open their season against Osawatomie at home on Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. Daugharthy believes 2020 could be a special season for the Mustangs.
“First of all, I think we can beat anybody,” Daufharthy said. “I’m super excited for week 1, and have been that way since last season ended.”
