The start of high school football playoffs has been delayed one week in an effort to provide schools time to review their situations and work with their health departments to determine the best course of action, according to KHSAA. The first round of the playoffs will now take place the weekend of Nov. 19-21, with no additional planned changes to the playoffs for now.
KHSAA advised that in the meantime, schools should review site strategies, seating capacities, and all other facets of the likely contest(s) during this interim period.
“It goes without saying that we are in the midst of issues within our state and the current status of the pandemic,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said in a release. “This decision isn’t just about the few ongoing quarantines, it’s about 82 counties Friday being defined as ‘red’ including the vast majority of the east. It’s about giving our schools time to deal with the issues around athletics which are not identical to the issues around the school day and as such, may need separate local discussions.”
Local coaches reacted to the news Saturday morning.
“Like many teams, we were off last week, said OWensboro head coach Jay Fallin. “So, we were looking forward to getting back to action this week, but additional time to heal some nagging injuries and work on details is always useful. Our team is mature and dedicated and will use the extra time wisely. We’ve effectively locked in the No. 1 RPI position, so we’re looking forward to hosting home playoff games beginning on Nov. 20.”
Apollo coach John Edge said, “We have to control what we can control. It actually gets a few of our kids healed. On the flip side we have to keep practice tempo high to keep kids in shape. We might have shorter practices like you do in playoffs. We just have to adjust. We’re happy to play. Just tell us when and where.”
Owensboro Catholic head coach Jason Morris said he tries not to overreact or make spur of the moment decisions unless necessary.
“We will meet as a coaching staff this weekend and put together a plan for next week just like we have since June because we have been day by day and week by week all season and we knew that going in this year,” he said. “We will continue to try to perfect what we do in all three phases of the game. We are eager to see a playoff bracket and to begin the playoffs. We will be ready.”
Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon said he was surprised by the decision but understands why it was made.
“I have been telling our team to take advantage of every opportunity, because tomorrow is not guaranteed,” he said. “Hopefully we will get an opportunity to play again. Our team was disappointed when Owensboro Catholic cancelled (last night’s game), but we turned our focus to Henderson County and had an excellent week of practice. The guys are resilient, and will be able to handle whatever comes at them. I am honored to coach them, especially the seniors, and we are fortunate to have played at all this year.”
According to KHSAA a result of the postseason delay, the following guidelines will be in place for member schools:
- The first round will begin with the weekend of Nov. 19-20-21.
- Teams are permitted to schedule contests this season after elimination (or withdrawal), however there is a moratorium on holding games Nov. 11-14. No contests should be scheduled this week.
- The bracket builder for 2020 is again listed online at https://bit.ly/37Tg5SO but should be considered a draft at this point due to withdrawals.
- Teams may voluntarily withdraw from the playoffs without penalty.
- If a seeded team withdraws and other district teams remain in the alignment, those teams not qualifying from earlier from within that district will be given an opportunity to enter the bracket.
- If there are withdrawals during the process, the bracket pod (district) will be re-seeded up to a point, after which the withdrawal will simply create a bye.
- The review will be ongoing, and it is possible substantial changes could be made as needed in future days and weeks.
