Serra players forced out after positive test

More than a dozen football players at highly rated Serra High will be forced to sit out their scrimmage today against Bellarmine after there was a positive test on the roster, coach Patrick Walsh confirmed to this news organization.

Walsh said if local quarantine rules aren’t loosened, those players may also miss the Padres’ regular-season opener the following week, a top-five matchup at Valley Christian.

One player’s test came back positive, Walsh said, forcing a total of 16 — all defensive backs and wide receivers — to enter quarantine. Nobody on the team has shown symptoms, and there have been no other positive tests, Walsh said.

Although the California Department of Public Health reduced the required quarantine period for close contacts with someone who has tested positive to 7 or 10 days, depending on test results, from previous guidance that said two weeks, rules in San Mateo County still require a 14-day quarantine.

Two weeks from the Padres’ positive test would extend the quarantine period past their game against Valley Christian. Serra is ranked third in the Bay Area News Group preseason Top 25, Valley Christian fourth.

If all 16 players are required to quarantine for the full two weeks, Walsh said that would jeopardize their eligibility for their first regular-season contest and possibly put the game, as scheduled, in jeopardy. The Padres would be left with a roster of about 40, Walsh said, enough for a scrimmage but not a regular-season meeting. Walsh said he would attempt to resched

ule the nonleague game for the weekend of April 25, if necessary.

In the meantime, Walsh said he is in communication with county health officials to get clarification on the quarantine rules.

Because the Padres largely kept position groups separated, only defensive backs and wide receivers were impacted, Walsh said.

That, of all teams, Serra’s season could be harmed by a positive test after its coach helped lead the return-to-play movement, Walsh called ironic but said he was thankful nobody in the program had developed any symptoms.