Liberty players celebrate their 50-7 victory over Centennial in the 4A high school football championship at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019.
Published Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 | 3:57 p.m.
Updated 4 hours, 14 minutes ago
High school football won’t be played this school year in Nevada.
The Clark County School District informed schools Friday afternoon that all sports traditionally contested in the fall would be canceled because of the pandemic. Campuses throughout Southern Nevada remain closed, meaning it would be impractical to conduct a sports season.
“CCSD has made the difficult decision to cancel fall sports for the 2020-21 school year,” the district said in a statement.
Fall sports were supposed to resume in February. Other sports affected include: girls golf and volleyball, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls soccer.
“Seniors trying to get their opportunities man,” Liberty quarterback Daniel Britt posted on Twitter after the decision was announced.
Liberty was the defending state football champion. A proposal for a six-week season would not have included state playoffs, but athletes — after 10 months of the pandemic keeping them away from campus — were looking for closure with a condensed season.
Canyon Springs running back Martin Blake tweeted, “Thankful for each of my brothers I got to compete with and against. Unexpected end to a chapter that taught me so much … what a blessing it was suiting up for C Springs.”
Arbor View football coach Matt Gerber also took to Twitter: “We knew this was coming, but it doesn’t make it any easier. To the Class of 2021 … take nothing for granted. I think that is a lesson you probably have learned. You are all going to be a part of my story, and I’m privileged to be a part of yours.”
CCSD in late 2020 also canceled the winter season of basketball, wrestling, bowling and girls flag football.
The spring seasons for baseball, softball, track, swimming, boys golf and volleyball are still in play. Those sports were contested for about two weeks last March before being canceled at the outset of the pandemic.
CCSD principals are working on a plan to bring students back to campus, but there’s no timeline and plans would still have to be approved. That means there’s a strong possibility that the spring sports will also be canned, which would mean that Class of 2021 graduates could miss two varsity seasons.
A majority of states have had high school sports in some form. But those states weren’t as heavily affected by the pandemic as Nevada, which was considered a virus hot spot in the fall.
