Weddington High football coach frustrated as Warriors remain sidelined
Weddington head football coach Andy Capone has spent nearly as much time on Twitter and the telephone this season as on the practice field.
That’s what happens when your team’s schedule is shredded by COVID-19 protocols and you’re left with open dates.
“This is definitely frustrating,” says Capone, who has coached the Warriors to back-to-back 3AA state championships and is regarded as a title contender again this season.
Most schools will be playing for the fifth time Friday night or Saturday, in what was designed as a seven-game regular season. Weddington has played three games and will be idle again this weekend.
The Warriors’ scheduled Southern Carolina 3A opponent, Marvin Ridge, is sidelined by COVID contact tracing. The same problem will prevent Sun Valley and Cuthbertson from playing this weekend. A few weeks ago, Weddington lost its scheduled game against Piedmont for the same reason.
How does a school fill such an open date?
“I go to Twitter and start searching,” Capone says with a laugh. “Our athletic director sends out a mass email to other schools, and I check with NC Preps to see if they’ve heard anything. I try to do anything I can for the kids, to get them on the field.”
In the case of the Piedmont postponement, Capone made a few attempts to find a nonconference opponent but decided to leave the date open, in hopes of rescheduling that game during the final week of the season.
This time, Capone says he knew there weren’t enough weeks remaining in the season, which is set to end April 9, to reschedule the contest. So he looked across the state for someone who was willing to play.
“We haven’t had a home game yet,” he says. “We haven’t had a Senior Night. Our kids haven’t had the chance to play in front of their families.”
Weddington officials found a handful of schools in the same boat this weekend, but no deal could be worked out.
Capone says he plans to give his team a few days off this week, then prepare to play three games over the final two weeks of the regular season. That will be followed by what he hopes is a deep run into the playoffs.
The Warriors will face a tough Monroe team next Thursday, then have a makeup game against either Piedmont or Marvin Ridge on the Tuesday after Easter, followed by the regular-season finale that Friday.
“I’ve never had to worry about a practice and game schedule on Easter break week,” he says with a laugh. “But our kids will do whatever they can to get on the field and play.
“In a season like this, that’s the right attitude. You do what you have to, in order to get on the field.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle