Owensboro’s KHSAA Class 5A matchup with Fairdale tomorrow night is canceled due to a positive Covid-19 test within the Bulldogs program, which sends the Red Devils to their second-straight state semifinal next week.
The news was announced Thursday morning in an email from OHS athletic director Todd Harper.
Owensboro coach Jay Fallin said he feels for the Bulldogs.
“First of all, our thoughts are with coach (Louis) Dover and his team,” Fallin said. “We hope that everyone stays safe and healthy there. Just disappointed for, number one concerned for their health and safety and two, disappointed for their kids who worked hard and earned the right to participate in a state quarterfinal.”
Fallin said he and his staff don’t have to harp to their players about what could happen to their season.
“Our kids get it, they do,” he said. “They’ve done a great job all year. They understand that this could happen at any moment. It’s a credit to our coaching staff who’ve done a great job of keeping it at the forefront of their minds and to our kids, football matters to them. They want to do what it takes to make sacrifices to try and stay healthy.
“As I tell them, it could happen to any of us at any point. You can’t avoid all human contact and be a football player. We want to be able to say if it happens to us, if we were to have a positive case and have to quarantine, we want to be able to say we did everything we could to avoid it and followed all public health and safety guidelines. Just take it a day at a time.”
This is the third game canceled for tomorrow night and the second in Class 5A as Madison Southern had to forfeit its contest against Covington Catholic earlier this week.
The Red Devils will now advance to next week’s KHSAA Class 5A semifinals and will find out its opponent after Friday’s other 5A contests end.
If Frederick Douglass beats Southwestern, OHS would host the Broncos in a rematch of last year’s semifinal at Rash Stadium next Friday. If Southwestern beats FD, they’ll advance to take on Covington Catholic and Owensboro would play the winner of Bowling Green and North Bullitt.
“If a ticket was purchased for this week’s game versus Fairdale, it can be used for next week for our semi-state game,” Harper stated in the email.
