Wait ends: Marin preps ready for some football
Five-game season starts tonight after virus put sports on hold
When football players around the county were able to put on pads earlier this month for the first time in more than a year, Tam High football coach Matthew LemMon noticed an immediate change in many of his student-athletes.
“When we first put pads on some of these kids that have played before — the freshmen are a whole different thing — but with the kids who have played before, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid as happy in my entire life,” LemMon said. “On top of that their level of engagement everywhere else has gone up. I teach classes and I have some of these kids, and since school started I see them at conditioning running and then I see them in class and they’re zoned out and whatever and I have to bring them back.
“Now they have pads on and I see them in class and they’re locked in, like waiting to answer whatever question,” he said. “So for me, when I was trying to tell everyone it’s important to play, people were saying ‘OK, yeah sure,’ they agreed, but now I see it firsthand the level of difference there, which is just the most wild thing. I knew it was important
but I didn’t know it was that level of importance.”
Months of conditioning in cohorts followed by a threeweek sprint to get game ready will come to a head as prep football makes its longawaited return on tonight.
“Everything was looking kind of glum but we managed to pull out a five-game season,” San Marin quarterback Jake Marshall said. “It’s gonna be super fun to get out there on the field,
play against some MCAL teams, play against people that we know. I’ve been looking forward to it for the past seven months.”
The season kicks off with Terra Linda traveling to face crosstown rival San Rafael in the annual Bell Game — part of a full slate of MCAL action this weekend.
“For the first time probably ever, the Bell Game is being played Week 1,” San Rafael coach Mark Lubamersky said. “Terra Linda and San Rafael right out of the gate. It will be great to get back to football.”
For the past three weeks, coaches have been racing against the clock to help their players shake off the rust from a 16-month layoff brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a unique year because half of the kids in the program have never played tackle football before,” Terra Linda coach Dallas Hartwell said. “It’s been over a year since kids could work on snaps. It’s been over a year since kids could do a handoff. It’s been over a year since you could work on fundamental tackling even on a bag.”
Despite months of dealing with the uncertainty of whether there would even be a season, football players around the county continued to hold out hope and put in work.
“I don’t know how other programs have been doing but I know San Rafael and Terra Linda have had almost the entire roster out for practices since June,”
Hartwell said. “It’s been incredible considering the doubt that’s been around this season, especially in January it didn’t look very good, but kids kept coming out in force every day.”
Rivalry games, traditionally held during the final week of the regular season, have been moved up this year.
“I know not all coaches were in favor of it, but if we have a COVID situation in Week 5 then we can’t extend the season and we’d lose the game,” Terra Linda athletic director Steve Farbstein said.
Redwood and Tam are set to square off on Saturday. Novato and San Marin will battle it out next weekend.
“The greatest thing is, our first game is against Redwood?” LemMon said. “The bitter rival of forever? You’re telling me all
the kids aren’t fired up beyond for everything? Oh, it’s the greatest moment of the week.”
A different feel
Although prep football being played around the county represents another step toward a normalcy since the pandemic hit, the games will likely look, sound and feel a lot different.
“It’s just the reality we’re going to have some sloppy football,” Hartwell said. “Some teams are going to be sloppier than others, so it’s the people that can mitigate those that are going to be the best. We’re just really focused on fundamentals, trying to protect the football, having good snaps, and if we can do that better than the other team, we should come out and have a lot more opportunities.”
Football players had been conditioning in cohorts since July before California changed its stance at the 11th hour and gave the green light to play games this season. The first official day of practice was March 1.
The long layoff and the inability to run plays or replicate game situations could lead to plenty of turnovers, penalties and missed assignments once the games begin.
“I just think people are going to have to be patient and have to understand that coaches and teams were put in a really difficult situation,” Hartwell said. “We have to be patient with the kids and we should all be really grateful that we’re out here playing football in the first place.”
Although pregame testing is not required because
Marin’s adjusted case rate is below seven per 100,000 people, players will all get screened and have their temperatures checked before they can take the field. Locker rooms are not being used this season, so players will travel to the game in full pads and uniforms.
Field protocols will require players to wear masks during the game, in addition to the mouthpieces designed to help protect them from getting concussions. Players and coaches on the sidelines must maintain a distance from each other.
MCAL schools will typically allow two people for each player to attend the games. San Rafael and Terra Linda will not be charging admissions this year, citing the unnecessary risk involved with the exchange of money during the pandemic.
People are advised to bring their own water bottles as neither school will be staffing a snack shack this season.
Studies have indicated that risk of COVID-19 transmission at these events typically comes from postgame social interactions rather than the game itself, so parents and players will be required to leave the venue shortly after the game is over.
With attendance limited, Marin schools are looking into the possibility of livestreaming games.
“It’s just incredible that we’re out here and able to do this,” Hartwell said. “It’s just great for the kids. I would just say that I’m glad for the decisionmakers that they made the right choice and the people that advocate for this to happen deserve a lot of thanks.”