COVID concerns cancel title game, but Chester is declared winner
Ladontay Bell received the call late Saturday morning.
Chester’s head coach was ready to lead his team into competition. The Clippers were slated to host the United X League final against Harry S Truman. That Clipper opponent in this spring football league title game was on the bus and Chester bound when its players and coaches received the call.
The game was off.
It was learned that a player from Truman had tested positive for coronavirus. That quickly, Saturday’s championship was canceled and declared a no-contest.
By virtue of its better won-loss record, Chester (41) was declared the United X League champion. But that’s not the way the Clippers wanted to take home the title.
Bell lamented sharing the news with his players Saturday.
“Just a rough day, man,” he said hours later. “Our players were really playing for something this year, much bigger than football. We had some fallen young men and I believe that’s what their heart was focused on today, finishing strong for their brothers. It was an unfortunate decision today. Both teams were ready to go. I was able to speak with (Truman coach) Ben (Johnson) and they were ready to go, but COVID strikes again.”
The Clippers were honoring two Chester High football players who lost their lives to gun violence last year, Edward Harmon and Ny’Ques Farlow-Davis.
Bell also was looking forward to reuniting with Johnson. The two were assistant coaches at Chester in 2013.
There remains a sliver of hope the game could be played, but a 14-day shutdown at the time of the positive test is required before the teams play. The PIAA’s alternative season is scheduled to conclude next weekend, which means a makeup date is an impossibility unless something can be worked out between the PIAA and the high schools.
Saturday’s cancelation is a deflating end to the strange spring football season.
“It was an administrative call and there’s nothing that we can do once those calls are made. It’s unfortunate,” said Bell, who is the acting athletic director at Chester. “It’s on both ends. Looking at the COVID situation and the protocols we must follow, you know, and we have only a week remaining to play this game. It’s just unfortunate that it happened. Our kids are emotional about it, Ben said his kids were emotional about it. You get all the way to the ‘chip and you can’t play, that’s just tough.
“One word that can be said about our kids this week was focus. They were focused, man, and they were locked in all week. We didn’t really have to get them up for this game, they understood the magnitude of it. I did reiterate one time in our team
meeting just the importance of the game. They were ready, they really wanted this game for what has taken place over the last year to two of their teammates, Ed Harmon and Ny’Ques Davis. That really took a toll when I told them they can’t play this game.”
In September, the Del Val announced it would not participate in fall sports due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The leaguewide shutdown enabled athletic directors from each school to explore options for the spring. The Del Val partnered up with other schools in the state that canceled their fall athletics and formed the United X League.
In addition to Del Val members Academy Park, Chester, Chichester, Interboro and Penn Wood, the United X League consisted of Cheltenham, Truman and Norristown, who are PIAA District 1 members. District 3’s Reading and District 12’s Father Judge joined the conference as well.
The Del Val League will return to a normal spring sports schedule. The United X League was formed for the alternative fall season only. Del Val game and match competitions for the spring season are scheduled to begin this week.