COVID-19 quarantine at Linden cancels game against Woodridge

Linden High School canceled its season opener against Woodbridge after a member of its program tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The Barrons, who are ranked No. 17 in USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey's preseason Top 25 poll, are now scrambling to find a new opponent for this weekend.

With more than 20 season-openers postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus-related issues, the Barrons may have a chance to find a replacement, even on short notice.

Linden head coach Al Chiola, who said his entire program has the individual who tested positive in its thoughts and prayers, praised his players for the manner in which they took the news during a video conference call.

“They probably took it better than I did,” said Chiola, whose team must quarantine for two weeks, meaning it will not be able to play its second game of the season against J.F. Kennedy.

“They were mature in handling it. They know the gravity of the situation everyone is dealing with. They had words of encouragement for every teammate to stay positive and stay together.

"They said,’ We’ll be back playing football before you know it.’ It was very encouraging to see how well our players responded. I was very happy. They made myself and the rest of the staff feel good that they understood what’s happening.”

Each season, Linden places a new inspirational message on the back of its practice shirts.

The words inscribed on the back of this year’s shirt read: “Make every week practice game quarter play snap second count.”

“Those words take on a whole new meaning in the COVID era,” Chiola said.

Email: gtufaro@gannett.com