Everest Collegiate forced to forfeit football semifinal due to virus
The Clarkston Everest Collegiate football team was riding high last weekend after winning the program’s first regional championship.
Now, the Mountaineers are experiencing a painful low after being forced to forfeit their Division 8 semifinal contest against Centreville.
Everest Collegiate had a positive COVID-19 tests occur on Thursday while going through the required pilot testing program that was set up by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services with the approval of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
“In compliance with the MDHHS pilot testing program by which the team has been testing every couple days, the EC Mountaineers announced the cancellation of Friday’s semifinal game following positive test results on the team on Thursday,” Everest Collegiate Athletic Director Ann Lowney said in a statement. “The Mountaineers are grateful to have had the opportunity to play the regional game and win their first regional title last weekend. Everest remains committed
to screening and safety policies and procedures. We join in prayer for the end to the pandemic. As with every circumstance or disappointment, we strive to live up to our motto: Semper Altius – Always Higher.”
The Mountaineers were coming off a 35-0 win over Petersburg Summerfield in the regional championship last Saturday at the Legacy Center in Brighton. The regional championships were on pause for nearly two months due to the epidemic order restricting organized sports. It wasn’t until the testing program was put in place late in December that football was able to resume.
This year’s Everest Collegiate squad set a program record with 10 wins and just 41 posting allowed over the course of the season.
The Mountaineers have reached the postseason every year since beginning the football program in 2013.
Head coach Michael Pruchnicki was named Second Team All-State Coach of the Year in Division 7-8 by the Associated Press this season.
“It was such a special season,” Pruchnicki said. “The life experiences this group shared will be with them for the rest of their lives. For that we are thankful to all those that made this season possible - the parents, volunteers, our administration, especially our AD, the officials and the MHSAA. As hard as it is right now, this group is mature enough to know they are being called to something greater.”