DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Lumpkin County head football coach Heath Webb was disappointed to hear the news Monday morning.
"How does this happen in the great football state of Georgia that a high school football game gets canceled just days before the contest," said Webb. "Outside of COVID, I can't think of a time that this has happened."
The game that was canceled was the Indians' week one matchup against Riverside, news that came to Webb's radar Saturday morning after Lumpkin's scrimmage against Banks County on Friday.
Now, the Indians are trying to find a contest to fill the gap left by the cancellation, a task that Webb says will be next to impossible.
"In the two-year scheduling window that we have in high school football, it's going to be really tough to find someone to play during one of our bye weeks. Even in reaching out to Riverside's upcoming opponents, they are unable to schedule with us as they still believe they will play on their previously scheduled dates."
Webb says the next steps for his team are to turn their attention to next week's home opener against Union County, but the frustration will take some time to get over.
"I'm really frustrated for our players having this happen to them and leaving them without a game when the season is already only 10 games long, and to have one taken from them because another team isn't ready to play is extremely frustrating. To see the disappointment on our kids' faces when I broke the news to them this morning is something no coach wants to see. At this point, though, we just have to control what we can control, and that's our preparation for Union County."
Riverside athletic director Richard Crumley released a statement Monday afternoon.
"We have made the difficult decision to cancel our home football game versus Lumpkin County scheduled for Friday, August 18th," the statement said. "Although our returning players have long been cleared to play, many of our new players have yet to be cleared to play, either because they haven’t completed the acclimation period or because they are still awaiting a ruling on GIAA eligibility. We anticipate clearance for all players soon and look forward to beginning the fall campaign in earnest at The Walker School on August 25th."
