Trenton-R’ville CVC semi canceled amid COVID issues
The cruel irony of COVID-19 logistics is that even when it looks like everything is all clear, you just never know what could happen.
The Colonial Valley Conference suffered a devastating blow this week when Trenton and Robbinsville, two of its participants in the Pod A boys basketball championship, were exposed to teams that tested positive for the virus.
Trenton and Robbinsville’s semifinal game was initially postponed from Wednesday to Thursday when Trenton found out Wednesday that Hopewell Valley, the school it hosted on Monday, had COVID-19 issues.
The entire Trenton team got tested Thursday morning, but the Tornadoes backed out of the game after they learned Robbinsville was also exposed to the virus in its game against Lawrence on Monday.
According to Trenton coach Darryl Young, the Tornadoes were “good to go” after testing and intended on playing Thursday had Robbinsville not been exposed.
“We were figuring if we got tested and if we were negative, we could go ahead and make it happen,” Young said. “But at that time, we didn’t know what was going on with Robbinsville. So even though we got that information later (Wednesday), we were already going to do the tests anyway, so all my kids, we went. We would go anyway knowing we had contact with Hopewell on Monday, and they were giving out rapid tests at one of our own campuses.”
Robbinsville’s protocol is that the kids who played in Monday’s game must quarantine, but anyone on the bench or JV can still suit up. The Ravens are now scheduled to play at Nottingham, which defeated Allentown in their Wednesday semifinal, Saturday at noon for the CVC title.
It remains unclear who exactly is eligible to play in that game. Robbinsville declined comment Thursday, and Young said he had no idea that the Ravens would be facing Nottingham.
Trenton was scheduled to end its six-week season with a trip to Allentown on Saturday morning, but it appears that game will also be canceled.
“As of right now, my AD (athletic director Sharon Grady) said we’re done,” Young said. “I’ve been told that we had to quarantine.”
It’s a frustrating finish for those schools, especially given that Nottingham, Robbinsville and Trenton have all been playing continuously since the last week of January without any outbreaks.
Each came into the tournament with only two losses and were looking forward to an exciting postseason to declare a champion in lieu of a state tournament, which the NJSIAA opted against hosting during this shortened season.
“We tried to stay safe all year,” Young said. “Me and my entire coaching staff and kids have been home and the Trenton High gym. That’s been the only places we’ve been going to the whole time. I haven’t been out with my wife or anything, so to have it end like this, you’re trying to do the right thing to keep everybody safe and it ends like this, everybody is just broken right now.”
Trenton (10-2) was eager for another chance to face Nottingham (12-2) and play for a championship banner. After losing to the Northstars on Feb. 15, Trenton won its last six games by an average of 27 points. The team also wanted to prove that it should’ve been seeded ahead of Robbinsville (10-2) because it held a head-to-head victory over the Ravens.
Young feels the entire debacle could have been avoided had the NJSIAA simply scheduled an extra week as a buffer for any COVID-19 issues in postseason games.
“I just feel we ended the season too early,” Young said. “Even if we gave it an extra week, just in case something like this happened. I think that should’ve been part of the rules. If we got to this week and there was a COVID outbreak or something for a tournament game, we’d have been allowed to push it back a week. Nobody wants to end like this.”
The Trentonian also reported Thursday that three Mercer County mayors are expected to discuss the possibility of holding an unsanctioned tournament in protest of the NJSIAA, which rejected Robbinsville’s proposal to play Trenton next week because of the precedent it would set for other districts to finish their seasons beyond the NJSIAA’s March 6 deadline.
It’s unlikely, though, that the schools would be willing to risk consequences from usurping the NJSIAA’s authority.
“Somebody sent me that article on the mayors and I was like, ‘Wow, maybe we can get a miracle. The mayors can get something happening for us,’” Young said. “But at the same time, you don’t want to go against the governing body of high school sports in the state because you could get some backlash from that. We don’t know what could happen to us if we went against their policy. As much as I want to play, I wouldn’t go against them because we won’t win that battle.”
One of the biggest lessons that coaches have instilled in their players during these challenging times is to control what they can control, but that doesn’t cure the pain felt from a season-long mission ending prematurely.
“My kids are crying, man,” Young said. “These kids are hurting badly on this one and I really, really feel for them. I feel for all the kids at these schools, especially the seniors.”