The SPC Becomes First Texas Conference to Cancel Fall Championships and Season: by: @aogburn00
The Southwest Preparatory Conference became the first conference in Texas to announce the cancellation of its high school football season on Friday afternoon.
This announcement affects the seasons of 13 Texas high school football teams, which are spread across the Houston, Dallas, and Austin areas.
“We recognize we are members of a Conference with a wide variance in local conditions, approaches and opinions regarding how to handle these challenging circumstances as they relate to athletic competition,” the SPC press release said. “We recognize our member schools are located in multiple metro areas, spread over a wide geographic area, with varying health conditions, regulations, public opinions, and governmental recommendations.”
With the variations of health orders and regulations from county to county and the uncertainty surrounding whether or not in-person activities are a safe and feasible option amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made to cancel the SPC’s fall sports season.
However, this does not mean that there will be no games for SPC members this fall as there is still an option for these teams to play games independent of SPC competition.
“With the announcement yesterday [Friday], I know there are a few teams in the SPC that are trying to put together an independent schedule,” said Aaron Mattox, the head football coach at Trinity Valley School, located in Fort Worth, Texas. “I know us, Arlington Oakridge, Episcopal School of Dallas, and The Woodlands John Cooper, for sure, are moving forward, trying to play a schedule.”
John Cooper, for one, has already teased the release of a new schedule coming Monday, so the plans of these SPC schools will be something to watch over the coming days.
The UIL, meanwhile, is moving forward with its plans to begin the seasons of 1A-4A teams this upcoming weekend, while 5A and 6A schools as well as TAPPS schools are planning on playing their first games on the weekend of September 24th. It will be a storyline to follow to see if these schools can get through their seasons without any further cancellations.
Read here how UIL schools are returning to practice: https://texashsfootball.com/while-the-5-6a-teams-wait-1a-4a-teams-return-to-practice/
For now, after the announcement from the SPC on Friday, the SPC members who deem it safe to play will look to make the most of their situation and give their players a chance to take the field as they begin to explore the viability of an independent schedule this fall.
