Five more games stifled by covid-19

There were five known football game cancellations Thursday because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The biggest of the five matchups scheduled for tonight was in Class 5A with Maumelle at Beebe.

Beebe had one student test positive and 22 students were forced to quarantine, the school's Athletic Director Chris Ellis told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Other games that were affected by covid-19 included Star City at Warren (Class 4A), Booneville at Danville (Class 3A), Hector at Conway Christian and Strong at Mineral Springs, the latter two Class 2A matchups.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected 10 known games in the state that were scheduled for either Thursday or tonight. The high school football season, which began Aug. 27, is in its sixth week. The canceled games are considered a "no-contest."

Through the first six weeks of the season, including this week, there have been 47 known games canceled because of covid-19 reasons.

At Beebe, Ellis found out about the school's positive case Thursday morning. By 1 p.m. the school's administration made the decision to cancel the Badgers' 5A-Central Conference game against Maumelle.

Also, the Badgers will not play Oct. 9 at Little Rock Christian because of the team's quarantine situation.

Ellis was disappointed that Beebe will not be able to play its next two games, but understands the decision.

"It's not my call," Ellis said. "We follow everything to the letter of the law."

Students that are quarantined will be required to stay home for 14 days, Ellis said, and may not attend school. However, they are asked to continue with virtual learning.

A probable close contact is someone who who was within 6 feet of the infected person for 15 minutes or more during the infectious period, according to Arkansas Department of Health guidelines.

Star City will also have to cancel a second football game in addition to tonight's game at Warren. The Bulldogs also won't play Hamburg on Oct. 9 because of the school's covid-19 situation.

Star City Superintendent Jordan Frizzell said in a statement on the Star City School District's website Thursday afternoon that the district was notified that there were "individuals" who had tested positive for covid-19 at the high school. While the statement did not mention how many students or staff members were affected, Frizzell mentioned that there were a "number of students on the football team who have been affected."

Booneville, which had its game canceled against Danville, was able to find an opponent for tonight and will travel to Warren.

Warren was to have played at Star City, but will instead face Booneville. The last time the two schools met was in 2013 when Booneville defeated Warren for the Class 4A state championship in Little Rock.

Strong-Huttig Superintendent Kimberly Thomas told the El Dorado News-Times on Thursday that Strong's game at Mineral Springs was canceled after learning of several athletes having to quarantine because of being exposed to the virus.

Conway Christian was forced to cancel its game against Hector because of covid-19 reasons, Hector announced on its school district Facebook page. It was not known Thursday how many students were affected by covid-19 in terms of positive tests or quarantining at Conway Christian.

Also on Thursday, the Little Rock School District said in its covid-19 report that it would reassess the situation at Little Rock Central by Sunday. Little Rock Central's football game scheduled for tonight against Fort Smith Northside was canceled because of covid-19, with at least four students connected to the athletic program having tested positive for the virus along with 85 students quarantining.

Two other LRSD high schools -- Parkview and Southwest -- are missing their second consecutive game this week. Parkview was to have played Lake Hamilton on Thursday, while Southwest was to host Cabot tonight.

Little Rock Central has had one game canceled so far. The Tigers' next scheduled game is Oct. 9 at Bryant.