HUNTSVILLE — Scott High entered the 2021 season feeling like it owed Austin-East a little something from last year.
As it turns out, the Highlanders won’t get the chance to show it.
Scott High’s game against the Roadrunners, scheduled for Sept. 10, will not be played. The Knox County School System announced Saturday morning that both A-E and Knox Central High School will be closed through Sept. 12 due to covid, and all extra-curricular activities canceled.
Knox Central was scheduled to host Gibbs on Friday.
The cancelation not only costs Scott High one of its 10 scheduled games, but one of its home games. Last season, the Highlanders’ game against A-E was also canceled because of covid, a move that didn’t settle well with Scott because it felt it was on the verge of defeating the Roadrunners for the first time since the 1990s.
Scott High got a covid win for last year’s cancelation, and will also get a covid win for this year’s cancelation if the Highlanders do not schedule a replacement game for Friday. That’s of little consolation, however, because A-E is not a regional opponent, so the win won’t matter for playoff seeding purposes.
As of Sunday, Scott did not have a replacement game scheduled. Picking up Gibbs, another team that’s looking for a game after Knox Central was forced to cancel, isn’t an option, since the Highlanders are already scheduled to face the Eagles in a region matchup on Oct. 1.
Covid is having an increasing impact on the high school football season. Last week, 37 games were canceled across the state. In East Tennessee, teams that were forced to cancel due to covid included Lenoir City, Rockwood, Oliver Springs, Whitwell, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Howard, Sweetwater, Bledsoe County, Rockwood and Pigeon Forge.
Oneida is scheduled to host Oliver Springs this week. The Tigers had to cancel a game against Gordonsville last week. There has been no indication, however, that this week’s game will not be played.
Last year, Scott High lost two games due to covid. In addition to the Austin-East game, the Highlanders’ scheduled game against Whitley County, Ky. was canceled.
Oneida played nine regular season games last year, after being forced to cancel its game against Coalfield due to covid.
