Wichita area high school football team forfeits playoff game due to COVID-19 spread
An area Kansas high school football team has had its season end due to the spread of COVID-19.
In a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, Valley Center announced it will have to forfeit Friday’s first-round Class 5A playoff game against Bishop Carroll after it was discovered this week that at least seven Valley Center football team members and coaches have tested positive for COVID-19.
Valley Center football coach Scott L’Ecuyer said it was a necessary decision, but one that was a heartbreaking one for a team that won three more games than it had last season and finished the regular season with a 5-3 record.
“It’s not the end that any of us envisioned, but it was in the best interest of both of our communities and our schools and our kids’ safety,” L’Ecuyer said. “At the end of the day, we had to make the decision.”
According to the Facebook post, several other team members are being tested “because they have symptoms associated with the virus.” Multiple players have been identified from contact tracing and have been required to remain at home.
L’Ecuyer said Valley Center had been preparing as if it were going to play Bishop Carroll on Friday, but that it became an easy decision to forfeit on Thursday when several members of the team were quarantined.
Despite the abrupt ending to their careers, L’Ecuyer said he is most proud of this year’s senior class, who were all sophomores when he took over the program in 2018. After winning a combined five games the last two seasons, the Hornets matched that total this season alone.
“This was a great group,” L’Ecuyer said. “I knew they were special ever since I took over their sophomore year. We could just tell, not because they were athletic but because they had a lot of fight in them. We knew they would become a tough group to beat.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 5:48 PM.
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