TILTON, N.H. — The Winnisquam High football team forfeited Saturday afternoon’s NHIAA Division III semifinal against Stevens due to a coronavirus-related issue within the Bears’ community.
Winnisquam athletic director John Larsen confirmed in an email that the school had learned of a second positive case Saturday morning, which spurred the decision to cancel the contest.
For the Cardinals, the forfeit means a move to next Saturday’s championship game — their first appearance since 2016 — where they’ll play Pelham, which defeated Monadnock, 14-10, in Saturday’s other semifinal game.
The decision to call off the Cards’ contest came after St. Thomas Aquinas and Exeter High both dropped out of their respective NHIAA football tournaments in the past week because of positive coronavirus tests in their school communities. A positive COVID-19 test at Merrimack Valley forced the school’s girls soccer team to forfeit Sunday’s D-II championship game, too.
The slew of postseason hiccups comes as New Hampshire continues to report its highest case numbers since the pandemic began last spring. The state has 1,630 current active cases.
“You want a game decided on the field, not because of other situations,” Cardinals athletic director Doug Beaupre said. “This has been a rough postseason with all this going on. I wish that we had finished out our regular season and had been happy we were able to play a season. I’m not sure that you need to have a postseason, especially when there is a pandemic going on.”
Beaupre was notified by Winnisquam around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning and promptly called coach Paul Silva, who was at Stevens and getting his team ready to board the bus to Tilton, where Winnisquam is located.
Silva said he was hesitant about playing prior Saturday’s game because Belknap County is in the red zone on the New Hampshire coronavirus map with 53 current cases reported. Stevens is located in Sullivan County, which lists 30 active cases.
Silva said he doesn’t like the idea of playing in the championship without having earned the spot, and he’s also unsure if playing is the safest decision for his team.
“We prepared all week; we wanted to play a game,” Silva said of the Cardinals, who are 2-3. “It’s just a crazy time. This has happened everywhere. We were about to get on the bus. All I know is that they called and forfeited the game.
“After this, I think I’m not sure what we’re going to do. I’m going to have to meet with my athletic director and SAU and see how everybody feels.”
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.