Hempfield, Derry football games called off after positive covid tests

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, October 12, 2020 | 6:01 PM

Three more WPIAL football games were canceled because of covid-19 cases.

Hempfield was supposed to play at Central Catholic, Derry was set to host East Allegheny and Apollo-Ridge planned to play at Serra Catholic, but those games will not happen Friday night.

Hempfield will close through Friday after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. All athletic activities will be suspended through the end of the week, said superintendent Tammy Wolicki.

Brandon Rapp, the first-year athletic director at Hempfield, said the game will not be made up.

“We will look to resume activities on Saturday for those programs that were shut down — with the exception of JV and varsity football,” Rapp said. “Most events from this week were able to be rescheduled. We will look to resume practices first and then transition back into competition.”

Derry, meanwhile, is closing until early next week after five school district personnel tested positive for covid-19. All athletics at Derry are canceled through Sunday, said Eric Curry, the district superintendent.

Derry athletic director Brett Miller said he will discuss with East Allegheny athletic director Dave Loya the possibility of a make-up date, but it does not look promising.

“We are working through rescheduling events that are canceled,” Miller said.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Serra Catholic will shut down football for 14 days after someone in the program tested positive for covid-19.

That means the Apollo-Ridge at Serra Catholic game Friday is canceled.

More than 40 players and football staff members are quarantined at Serra.

The Derry boys golf team qualified for the WPIAL Class AA championship Thursday at Cedarbrook, but it is not clear if it will be permitted to compete.

The team was “waiting to hear” Monday afternoon, soon after advancing through a semifinal tournament qualifier. Miller said administrators will meet Tuesday morning and decide then on the golf team.

Hempfield also reported Friday it had a member of its middle school football staff test positive, but it was determined no other staff or students had close contact with that individual.

Jeannette had a person associated with the cheerleading squad test positive for covid-19 two weeks ago. Those identified as being in close contact with that person are in quarantine, and all cheerleading activities are postponed until the later this week.

The Jeannette football program has not been affected.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Derry Area, Hempfield, Jeannette, Serra Catholic