Fall season still alive!

After latest AIA decision, AUHS goes forward with Fall sports.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association made it's decision last week to continue with the current trajectory of starting up Fall sports for it's member schools.

For Antelope Union High School, the decision of even having Fall sports during the current Coronavirus Pandemic was on the line.

If the AIA elected to delay the overall start-up any later than the current plan, Antelope would have elected to cancel Fall sports for this school year.

But, the current trend of falling COVID-19 testing numbers and the AIA's decision to stay the course changed everything.

"We were 95 percent sure we weren't going to have sports. But, after we looked at the latest data coming back from the COVID number, we finally decided we were going to go forward with our Fall sports; volleyball and football."

The decision was critical for Rams athletics, as a further delay would have shrunk the Fall schedule too thin and potentially interfere with plans to go forward with the Winter sports.

As it stands right now, the football season will be exclusively 5 section games that consist of 4 opponents that are ranked in the top 15 in the state.

The volleyball program is looking at playing only a 10 game section season that might now last much longer than a month.

Both seasons might not start until sometime in mid-October.

This is a move that Rams Athletic Director Rocky Jaime believes is important to give his student athletes the best chance to be ready to play.

"We wanted to make sure that because we're starting later, that we're giving our kids enough time to get acclimated to the heat. Because it's hot out there. And then, get used to playing under these new condiitions; with you know, having to wear a mask, having to maintain a distance when you are not out on the field. And just getting them ready mentally as well as physically. And that takes time."