The season opener between Fountain Lake and Hot Springs has been called off because of coronavirus concerns, Fountain Lake announced in a news statement Wednesday afternoon.
Fountain Lake was scheduled to travel to Reese Memorial Stadium to face Hot Springs in a nonconference game Aug. 27.
But two Fountain Lake assistant coaches have tested positive for covid-19, and three other coaches on the staff are quarantining for 14 days under Arkansas Department of Health guidelines.
The quarantine period began Aug. 12, with about half of Fountain Lake's players also quarantining. The Cobras have 35 players in the program, but Coach Kenny Shelton did not comment on how many players were exposed to the virus. No players have tested positive, he said.
It is the first high school football game in Arkansas that has been called off because of the pandemic. The Arkansas Activities Association declared the game a no-contest, meaning that neither team will be assessed a win or a loss in the standings.
The junior high game between the schools on Tuesday also was called off.
Shelton said with the quarantine period ending Aug. 26, there wasn't enough time to adequately prepare the Cobras to play the Trojans.
"I felt that this was in the best interest of our kids' safety," Shelton said. "They will not be physically ready to play a game."
Hot Springs Coach Darrell Burnett said Fountain Lake made the right decision.
"We fully support them," he said. "We wanted to play. They wanted to play. But I'd rather them be more cautious than to say, 'Let's go ahead and play.'
"You would rather be safe than sorry."
Hot Springs tried to get the game rescheduled for either Aug. 28 or Aug. 29, but Shelton said even with an extra two days of practice it wouldn't work out for the Cobras.
The Trojans are scheduled to scrimmage at Glen Rose today. Their first regular-season game is now Sept. 4 at Arkadelphia.
Fountain Lake Athletic Director Marc Davis said it was an emotional day for him.
"It's the time that we're living in," Davis said. "You can try to come back and play a game. But when you stop for two weeks and fatigue sets in, you get injured. You don't want to get injured and not play in week two and possibly the rest of the season."
Fountain Lake last practiced with a full team and coaching staff Aug. 12. Teams began fall practice Aug. 3 after having two months of limited group workouts.
Since fall practice started, nine known schools -- Benton Harmony Grove, Junction City, Salem, Green Forest, Bauxite, Hazen, Fort Smith Southside, Searcy and Fountain Lake -- have had at least one positive covid-19 case or exposure to the virus in its athletic program.
Shelton is worried the the Fountain Lake-Hot Springs game won't be the only game called off this season.
"I'm definitely concerned. I'm sure every coach is concerned," Shelton said. "I know we've been very cautious. We did all of the protocols.
"This virus affects everybody differently. If someone feels that they're sick, we don't want them to tough it out. I'd rather err on the side of caution."
Fountain Lake's next scheduled game is against England on Sept. 4 at Allen Tillery Field in Fountain Lake. Davis is hopeful the Cobras can play in two weeks.
"Timing wasn't on our side [for Hot Springs]," Davis said. "It's in God's hands. We'll get ready for England."