Game on!
CIF-San Diego Section promises prep football for Imperial Valley this school year.
Close to a week after the California Interscholastic Federation announced all of it's Fall sports seasons to be moved to the Spring due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, prep programs from across the Imperial Valley got some welcomed news.
They got a guarantee that football will be played sometime this coming school year.
CIF-San Diego Section Commissioner Joe Hines met with all the Imperial Valley prep principals, athletic directors, and head football coaches at Brawley Union High School on Tuesday to discuss more specific issues pertaining to the CIF's recent decision.
According to Brawley Union High School Athletic Director Billy Brewer, that assurance was given to everyone attending the meeting.
"They made a guarantee and I appreciated that; that they would let the Imperial Valley schools have a football season regardless. And that football season might be in January or February, just in case we don't make it December. Nobody knows that answer right now. But, we just wanted the guarantee that our kids would get to play. And the bottom line is that is going to happen."
During the meeting, the commissioner also presented all the Imperial Valley representatives 2 options for scheduling the upcoming Spring football season; whose preseason practices are scheduled to start on December 14th.
The 1st option would be a 10 game schedule that would be played out in a 10 week time period.
The 2nd would be an 11 week season that would still have 10 games played for every team as well as a bye week.
The CIF will make a final decision on which scheduling option will be selected this coming Monday.
In the meantime, Brewer emphasizes that the Arizona Interscholastic Association is still trying to implement a mid August Fall sports preseason practice start and all the uncertainty still weighing on the immediate future for sports within the Yuma Union High School District, the Imperial Valley football programs have agreed with the Yuma area programs not to play any interstate football games this coming school year.
"The main reason is, we both can't wait on each other. We have to fill a schedule. That's getting tougher to do under the circumstances. And if they go in August, there's no way with the COVID situation and the phase 1 situation where we're at."
"And so, instead of waiting, we have to fill those games. And they understand that and we'll get right back on our contracts with our relationships that following Fall."
"And our main thing right now was that our kids get to play, get to participate in football in the Winter. Get to participate in cross-country; boys and girls, and participate in girls volleyball. That's the driving force right now, however it happens."
