Corona Centennial pulls out of opener vs. Mater Dei because of COVID-19 protocols

Corona Centennial’s football program has become the latest to have its practices interrupted during a surge in COVID-19 cases in Southern California, and the school announced Thursday that it will not be able to play its season-opening game against Santa Ana Mater Dei on Aug. 20 because of practice limitations.

In a statement released by the Corona-Norco Unified School District, Centennial canceled the game out of an abundance of caution after two players tested positive for COVID-19. The team would not be able to fulfill the number of days for CIF practice requirements to play the game.

Other schools are facing practice disruptions. Damien, Bishop Amat and L.A. Wilson all had to pause practices because of COVID-19 protocols. Lakewood had to move practices off campus following summer school issues. Shadow Hills canceled participation in a scrimmage.

With classes beginning this month and COVID-19 testing expected to increase, there could be more interruptions similar to last spring when there was a six-week season and there were many game postponements. There’s an 11-week regular season scheduled for this fall, followed by four weeks of playoffs and one week of bowl games.

Mater Dei will have to find another opponent for its zero week game or go into its Aug. 27 road trip to Texas to play Duncanville without playing a game.