COVID-19 shuts down Edgewater football

Jones will now host Seminole in kickoff classic

Practices have been canceled until Aug. 23 as Class 7A state runners-up deal with virus; kickoff classic will now feature Jones against Seminole High.

The Edgewater High School football team became the latest COVID-19 victim Wednesday when players learned from a coach in the team’s group text that practices have been shut down until Aug. 23, according to junior running back C.J. Baxter.

With the shutdown, reigning Class 7A state runner-up Edgewater will have to cancel its preseason kickoff classic game against 8A state champion Seminole, originally scheduled for Aug. 20.

Since Evans is also in a COVID19 shutdown, the Trojans’ kickoff classic game was also canceled, but Orlando power Jones and Seminole have gotten together to schedule a new kickoff classic date at Jones, at 7 p.m. on Aug. 19).

Jones, coming off a 9-1 season, was set to host Gadsden County of North Florida for its preseason game and had initially added Seminole to create a three-team jamboree-type event. But Gadsden coach Corey Fuller decided the nearly four-hour drive was too much, and that left Jones and Seminole to battle in a big game that was at one point on the regular schedule.

That matchup between the Class 6A Tigers and Seminoles had to be canceled due to district scheduling conflicts.

As of Thursday, Edgewater’s’ opening regular-season home game scheduled for Aug. 27 against College Park rival Bishop Moore is still on.

“Yeah, bad news,” Baxter said. “I found out like an hour after practice today when I had gotten home. ... Coach sent out the message in the group chat. I think we’ll be able to play [Bishop Moore].

“Everything happens for a reason, and like I said in our group chat it’s probably better for everybody in the long run.”

Evans will return to practice Monday and should be ready for its season opener at Lyman.

Edgewater head coach Cameron Duke could not be reached for comment, but Baxter figures the Bishop Moore game will not come into conflict, even considering Edgewater’s lack of practice time. The Eagles have had eight practices so far, three of which were in full pads, and they will resume practice four days before the regular-season opener.

Baxter, a Class of 2023 prospect who was committed to FSU but then de-committed from the Seminoles in April, said the majority of the upperclassmen on the Edgewater football team are vaccinated. Those who took part in a mission trip to Guatemala earlier this summer had to get vaccinated in order to travel.

“I think it was like 20 players,” Baxter said of those who went on the mission trip.

Baxter said he did not go because his passport came a day late. He said he plans to get vaccinated this week.

As for the downtime, Baxter said he will find ways to keep himself physically prepared until the team comes back to practice.

“I’ll work out in the backyard and stuff like that,” he said. “[I’ll] watch film and do all the little things and still take care of my body.”