CONCORD, N.H. — The NHIAA will finish out its postseason football schedule despite multiple forfeits over the weekend due to COVID-19 cases on teams and in school communities.
Stevens High advanced to this Saturday’s Division III championship game because of two positive test results at Winnisquam. The St. Thomas Aquinas and Exeter gridiron teams also decided to drop out of competition for COVID-19-related issues.
Football is the last NHIAA-sanctioned sport still finishing out its season and the one that comes with the least social distancing.
Plus, the spread of the coronavirus in the Granite State has never been greater. The state had 1,903 active cases as of Sunday.
“We knew going into this year and the tournament that (teams dropping out) would be a distinct possibility,” NHIAA executive director Jeff Collins said in a Monday morning phone interview. “It was the desire of the NHIAA and the NHIAA council to move forward as best as we can with the continuation of the season and the ultimate culmination.”
Collins’ association follows state protocol, which still allows high school sports to carry on per the guidelines released Gov. Chris Sununu. New Hampshire was the only state in New England to offer full-contact football this fall.
Schools played regional schedules in the regular season and are traveling to different regions for playoffs, where case numbers can look very different.
“At this point in time, we’ve definitely had some conversations with the committee and council,” Collins said. “But ultimately, if the state is letting us move forward and play, we certainly feel that we owe it to the student-athletes that opportunity to play.”
The NHIAA is also handling blowback from its decision to have Somersworth host Saturday’s D-IV championship game, despite Newport’s record.
Newport was seeded as the top-ranked team entering the semifinals, where it defeated Fall Mountain, 43-0, to advance to the title game. Yet the NHIAA pairings showed Sunday morning that the Tigers would be headed to Somersworth instead of hosting the contest.
Many observers derided the decision on social media. No. 2 Somersworth has played only two games this season, both against Raymond. The Tigers, however, have outscored opponents, 286-43, and are 6-1. Their only loss was a 7-6 defeat to Lebanon, which plays in D-II and is set to play in the semifinals.
Collins said the NHIAA football committee chose to use winning percentage for all pairings, and if teams had the same percentage, it went to head-to-head. If that didn’t decide the host then it went to a coin flip.
He also noted neutral college sites weren’t used this season since COVID-19 rules at campuses prohibit visitors.
“As I told my kids today, they didn’t need any more fuel for the fire, but we weren’t respected,” Newport coach John Proper said. “We’re fine with that. Any time people have doubted us, we have come out and proven them wrong. I told them not to worry about social media, don’t get in it with anyone, you can’t change anything about it. Let the powers at be happen; we’re just going to play.”
After Saturday’s semifinal game, the Tigers were under the presumption the game would be played at Maryn Field. Now, they’ll travel more than 80 miles away. Players will be allotted two tickets each.
“They (NHIAA) say they’re using win percentage,” Tigers athletic director Jeff Miller said. “That means we’re being penalized for our loss to Lebanon, which plays two divisions up. I’m just disappointed. I don’t know how they come to their rationale sometimes.”
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.