Upper St. Clair gets OK to play after virus shutdown
6 players available for PIAA playoffs
The Upper St. Clair High School boys basketball team will be missing players for Saturday’s state playoff game because of COVID-19 cases, but the Panthers have decided the game will go on.
Upper St. Clair’s status was in question for the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal game because a player tested positive Saturday for COVID-19, a day after the Panthers won the WPIAL championship. Following guidelines from the Allegheny County Health Department, the school shut the team down for seven days and all players and coaches were quarantined.
Players and coaches were tested Wednesday, and those testing negative will be permitted to play or coach in the game Saturday at home against Erie. Although some players tested positive, Upper St. Clair athletic director Kevin Deitrick said at least six tested negative.
“We’re going to play,” Deitrick said. “We’ve followed the guidelines from the county health department. We’re still getting results, but we have six players right now. Hopefully, a few more will come in.
“Going through talks earlier in the week with our school administration and coaches, we talked about: How many players do we need to have to be comfortable to play? We thought six, and we have six right now.”
However, all players and coaches will still be quarantined through Friday. That means the Panthers will probably have a little practice before the game.
If Upper St. Clair couldn’t play, the PIAA said PineRichland would take the Panthers’ place. Pine-Richland lost to Upper St. Clair in the championship last Friday.
But who will coach Upper St. Clair is still up in the air. “The status of the coaching staff is still uncertain right now, including me,” coach Danny Holzer said.
Holzer did not want to identify which players tested negative and will be playing but said some of the team’s top players tested negative.
“We’re thrilled and thankful we still get the opportunity to play,” Holzer said.
Upper St. Clair will play an Erie team that won the District 10 championship for the first time in school history. Erie defeated Altoona, 75-21, in a first-round game Wednesday night.