Woodland-Chamblee game canceled due to COVID-19 concerns
The seemingly inevitable finally happened Friday, when a football game involving a Bartow County team was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Woodland had its home game against Chamblee called off by the visitors just hours before kickoff. The non-region contest was canceled "at the discretion of the opposing team due to COVID-19 concerns," per an email from Alisha Evans, Bartow County School System's communications director.
It was later clarified by the district that Chamblee canceled the game due a positive test at Woodland.
"Due to privacy laws, specific information, such as the identity of those affected by COVID-19, cannot be released by the Bartow County School System," the district's email to The Daily Tribune News stated.
The email also noted that pre-sale tickets for Friday's game would be refunded in 2-3 business days and that homecoming activities, which were set to take place Friday, would now be rescheduled for Oct. 23, when Woodland hosts county rival Cass.
Local teams had been fairly lucky to avoid any cancellations through the first four weeks of the season, and everything seemed on track in Week 5 before Friday's announcement.
Chamblee hasn't played any games this season, as schools in DeKalb County had delayed the start of their athletic events until Thursday.
Meanwhile, Woodland sits at 3-0, with Friday's game is considered a no-contest as opposed to a forfeit. According to the school's athletic director, John Howard, the Wildcats' schedule remains unchanged moving forward. That means Woodland plans to return to the field next Friday at Union County.
Having already held its first bye week, the Wildcats were scheduled to play seven times in seven weeks, starting with the Chamblee game. In a text message, Howard stated that Woodland could look to fill its final scheduled open date — Nov. 20 — with a 10th game "if there are no more cancellations."
