PONTIAC (WWJ) - A COVID-19 outbreak among players on Pontiac High School's football team handed them their first loss of the season on Friday night.
Pontiac High School officials made the difficult call to postpone Friday's (Sept. 8) game against Ferndale High School after several players came down with the same respiratory illness.
"We just had a few of our players test positive for COVID, and just out of an abundance of caution, we wanted to get everyone tested and not put anyone in harm's way," explained Pontiac Phoenix head coach Wendell Jefferson via FOX 2.
The Phoenix football team was on a winning steak after beating out their opponents in the season's first two games, but the decision to call Friday's game could have consequences for their record.
According to rules set forth by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, Friday's game is marked as a forfeit for Pontiac High School. Jefferson said he is looking into rescheduling the match up against the Ferndale Eagles or having the game declared as "no contest."
Pontiac High School officials did not release the number of players who fell ill and did not clarify if the team's coaches might have been affected, citing privacy rules.
As reported by the Associated Press, the "ever-evolving" coronavirus isn't just facing into the sunset. COVID-19 hospitalizations have been steadily increasing since late summer due to those that traveled in the warmer months and the school season picking back up with in-person class.
Updated COVID-19 vaccines are on the horizon, waiting approval with the FDA, but even with booster inoculations, doctors say breakthrough infections are possible although the virus tends to be weaker.
Jefferson said football teaches many lessons, both on and off the field. The head coach said it is their job to make sure players make decisions that lead them on the path to success not only in football, but also in life.
And sometimes, just like Friday's call, those decisions are tough.
"If we're not doing that and just winning, consider that a failure," Jefferson said.
