By David Fleet
Editor
Masked coaches, the ping of a non-contact infrared digital thermometer and six-foot intervals to keep players socially distanced during on field stretching marked the first day high school football practice.
Welcome to football during a pandemic.
On Monday, both Brandon and Goodrich joined thousands of high teams statewide under a coronavirus cloud of uncertainty to open the 2020 season.
The players are limited to helmets, shorts but no pads for the first week of practice. Passing and running drills along with conditioning will continue while pads and contact begin next week.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association stated that moderate and high-risk sports — football, girls volleyball and boys soccer — may begin practice, but not competition. Decisions about competition timelines for these three sports will be made by Aug. 20. The council — the MHSAA’s 19-member legislative body — also voted to cancel scrimmages in all fall sports for this school year and approved limitations on numbers of teams that may compete together at regular-season tournaments, invitational and other multi-team events.
Locally, football games are set to have an opening weekend on Aug. 27-29. At 7 p.m., Aug. 27, Frankenmuth at Goodrich and at 7 p.m., Aug. 27 Brandon at Fowlerville.
Despite some ominous coronavirus clouds over the upcoming season the 60 plus roster of the Brandon Varsity team focused on their first game with a “Beat Fowlerville,” chant during practice last week.
“We’re going to play until they tell us we are not going to play,” said Brandon Head Coach Brad Zube, starting his fifth year at the helm of the Blackhawks. “We’re taking all the safety precautions, we’ve been temp checking all summer long, keeping players spread out. We followed the rules all summer, no camps, no handing the ball off, we’ve never had a seven-on-seven (game). This week looks like the normal summer camps.”

Installing offense and defense, what should have happened three or four weeks ago, are happening now, he said.
“Pads on Monday,” he said. “They wear masks when not engaged.”
“The players have a great attitude,” said Zube. “They (players) just want to be together, being with the Blackhawk football family. They missed out on those opportunities. I had not seen these kids since March—we wanted to hug each other but we could not do that either. But, it’s a veteran team, we have 18 starters coming back this fall. So, football-wise they were a little board—they wanted to do more than we were allowed to do.”
The players are not worried about the coronavirus, said Zube.
“They are kids,” he said. “They are not worried about anything. When you’re 17-years-old you feel you’re invincible. The players that live with grandparents or have family members with some illnesses are a little more cognizant of it. But are all aware of it. There has not been a single kid that expressed they did not want to play because of COVID. Nor, a single parent that said they were not comfortable with their student playing football.”
Zube remains optimistic regarding the 2020 season.
Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director has shown great leadership during this pandemic, added Zube.
“Uyl, has assured us we are going to play, but that might not mean now,” he said. “We may play in the spring, we may play a shorten season anything is on the table. As long as the boys get to play, but impacts different teams different ways. We have to prepare like we have a game in three weeks.”
Like the Blackhawks, the Goodrich Martians were on the field for practice on Monday.
The same coronavirus protocol including masks, temperature and distancing was in place during the practice
“Does this look like a season?” quipped Tom Alward, starting his 28th year as head coach of the Martians. “We hope to have a season, I wish someone would make a call. It’s frustrating for these boys, frustrating for coaches and parents—they want to play. We want to play. We have young men that are in an age group that will lose more of them to the seasonal flu than to COVID, yet we are going through all this.”
“It is was it is,” he said. “We are getting ready to play a game and if someone wants us not want us to practice football then tell us differently. You can’t social distance and practice football.”