Covid protocols force Derry, Norwin, Woodland Hills to cancel Week 4 football games

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | 7:16 PM

A pair of Westmoreland County high school football teams had to cancel their Week 4 games Tuesday.

Derry athletic director Brett Miller informed Freeport officials Tuesday that Trojans players and coaches were exposed to someone who has covid-19, and the team had to cancel Friday’s WPIAL Class 3A Allegheny Seven Conference game.

“Our players won’t be able to return to practice until Sept. 28,” Miller said.

Derry is 0-4 overall and 0-1 conference play. Freeport is 1-2 and has yet to play a conference game.

Norwin also was forced to cancel its scheduled game Friday with Class 6A rival Seneca Valley.

Athletic director Mike Burrell said the Knights will have to cancel “due to the number of active positive covid cases, symptomatic students awaiting test results and unvaccinated quarantined students throughout our varsity football team.”

The WPIAL board of directors announced Monday that regular-season contests canceled because of covid-19 can be declared a “no-contest” rather than a forfeit.

“If you have able bodies to participate and you choose not to, then that’s a forfeit,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Monday. “However, if you are shut down because of covid and you can’t practice or play — your school is shutting down a program because of that — then that would be a no-contest.

“Or if there are enough covid cases that take you below the amount of athletes (required) to begin a contest according to NFHS rules, that could also be a no-contest. If there’s a combination because you have a few of these and a few ineligible and a few injuries, that will still be classified as a forfeit.”

A Class 5A nonconference game between Woodland Hills and North Hills scheduled for Friday also was called off Tuesday.

In a statement on its website, Woodland Hills said the game was postponed “due to the number of unvaccinated players being quarantined until (Friday).” A post on the school’s Facebook page said Woodland Hills intends to reschedule the game for later in the season.

Site switch

Because of ongoing installation of a new track at Bill Abraham Field at Spartan Stadium, Hempfield’s football game against Mt. Lebanon on Friday will be played at Mt. Lebanon.

The game was scheduled as a home game for the Spartans.

Hempfield athletic director Brandon Rapp confirmed the switch. Hempfield is 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Class 6A Conference. Mt. Lebanon is 4-0, 1-0.

Staff writer Bill Beckner Jr. contributed.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Derry Area, Freeport, Hempfield, Mt. lebanon