COVID scare cancels Sun Valley game at Oxford
Sun Valley’s game Friday night was postponed after the school was informed that a member of the Oxford High program was possibly exposed to COVID-19.
The Daily Local News was first to report the postponement.
Oxford Area School District did not release a statement regarding Friday’s game. Sun Valley officials were made aware the game would not take place earlier in the day.
The Ches-Mont League contest was scheduled for 7:30 at Oxford. Sun Valley will instead host a nonleague game against Ephrata Saturday night at 7. Only guests with tickets are allowed entry, and the game is closed the public. The game will be live-streamed via The Sports Fan Base Network’s YouTube channel.
“It’s unfortunate. We know that we have to expect anything this season, but the kids are excited they still get to play,” Sun Valley coach Greg “Bubba” Bernhart said. “It’s unfortunate what happened and it’s obviously something you don’t want to hear. But the guys had a really good week of practice and they were ready to play tonight. I’m glad they’ll get that chance (Saturday).”
Sun Valley hopes to reschedule its game with Oxford sometime next month. If there is a positive COVID-19 test, the PIAA and local state health departments mandate an automatic shutdown of an athletics program for two weeks.
The PIAA is allowing teams to add regular-season games to the schedule if they are not playing in the playoffs, as games can be played through the last weekend of November.
Sun Valley was the first Delaware County high school to play a football game this fall. Several leagues in the area, including the Ches-Mont, were originally shut down due to the pandemic, but reversed course and decided to play a truncated fall sports campaign. The Vanguards began their four-game regular season with a 20-6 home loss to Great Valley last Friday.
The Philadelphia Catholic League is kicking off its football season this weekend. Two of Delco’s three PCL football programs, Archbishop Carroll and Bonner-Prendergast, will play Saturday. Carroll hosts Archbishop Ryan and Bonner-Prendie plays Roman Catholic at neutral site
Cardinal O’Hara. Both games are scheduled for noon kickoffs.
O’Hara will begin its football season Oct. 29 against Archbishop Ryan.
The Central League football season gets under way next Friday with six games. The league will be split into two divisions based on the schools’ PIAA classification. In the 6A division, Lower Merion plays at Garnet Valley, Haverford hosts Upper Darby, and Ridley welcomes Conestoga. In 5A, Marple Newtown travels to Harriton, Springfield hits the road to play Penncrest, and Radnor hosts Strath Haven. All games are scheduled for 7 p.m.