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It's been a long summer and an even longer fall. Lots of back and forth, lots of opinions, lots of disagreements about how things should or should not be done. But finally, next week we will get to move on to the next stage.

No, I'm not talking about the election. I'm talking about the day after the election. That's the day the N.C. High School Athletic Association will officially begin practices and tryouts for volleyball and cross country, the first regular season activities for a NCHSAA sanctioned sport since they were suspended on Mar. 13. If you're counting, and I am, that's 236 days!

We're hoping everything goes smoothly, everyone follows the rules, schools are able to mitigate the risk, and this can be the start of a 2020-2021 sports season that starts and finishes.

I've got much more on the pandemic and high school sports below.

THE FUTURE OF HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

I hosted a webinar last night with some big names in high school sports -- NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker, NCISAA Executive Director Homar Ramirez, WCPSS Athletic Director Deran Coe, and Jones Senior High School Principal & NCHSAA board member Tod Morgan. We had a wide-ranging discussion about different issues high school sports will face as a result of this pandemic, many of which will last for some time to come.

Click here to watch a replay of the webinar.

Perhaps the most serious issue high school athletic departments will have to deal with as a result of the pandemic is the economic recession, which is made worse for high schools because very few fans (if any) will be allowed into games. Gate money is how athletic departments fund themselves. And the people who come into the games are buying concessions, raffle tickets, t-shirts, and other things. Without crowds at games, and with expenses still mounting, schools will have to scrape to find enough cash to run their programs. I encourage you to read my wrap-up from the webinar for more information. One positive thing though, the NCHSAA has given schools over $1,234,000 this year from the endowment fun.

Another potential issue? A decrease in the number of officials -- something the NCHSAA is already noticing, including in volleyball, which is slated to begin next week.

Tucker shared some other tidbits too about the football playoffs and the potential growth of eight-man football. You also need to see the closing statement from Deran Coe about what high school sports need to focus on going forward. It's all in my wrap-up.

STUDY: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS DON'T INCREASE SPREAD OF COVID-19

For a long time, I've been telling anyone who would listen that we need to be tracking the COVID-19 data within high school athletics in North Carolina. No, I'm not trying to be an alarmist or find a reason to shut it down. Quite the opposite, actually. Have we seen cases of COVID-19 in high school sports here? Yes. Both at NCHSAA workouts and at NCISAA schools where seasons are underway. But we have not seen (or at least we haven't heard about, and I think we would) big outbreaks of cases within sports. Does this mean sports are *NOT* a giant spreader of COVID-19 when you take the proper precautions and follow the protocols? That's been my guess. But it's all been based on anecdotal observations. I have no data to back it up because it's not being tracked.

But finally we have some data. Granted, this data is not from North Carolina, but it's still relevant.

The University of Wisconsin published a study after following more than 30,000 high school athletes in Wisconsin during the month of September. The study found there is no evidence that high school sports participation increases the spread of COVID-19. In fact, according to the study, high school athletes had a lower case rate than all teenagers in Wisconsin ages 14-17 during the same time period. Of the 30,000 student-athletes, 271 cases of coronavirus were identified and only one case was traced back to athletics.

This is relevant data that allows us to make informed decisions about resuming high school sports. But it is data we do not have in North Carolina.

Now let me add my little caveat to this. This data was from September. Today, Wisconsin is being hit hard by the pandemic. Very hard. I'm not sure if the study is continuing or not (I hope it is), but it would be very interesting to see how the numbers look this month with coronavirus out of control in that state.

BASKETBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS SEASON

Basketball season isn't that far away. Assuming it starts on time, of course. And nothing is guaranteed these days. Joel Bryant previewed some of the top basketball players in the east on HighSchoolOT. (Hint: The talent is stacked)

There was (sometime hyperbolic) speculation during the summer that all the top athletes in the state were going to transfer to private schools or to schools in other states because of the NCHSAA schedule uncertainty. While some transfers did happen (as they do every year, even without a pandemic), most of the top players in the east stayed home at their high schools.

One thing I found interesting is how much talent is at schools in the smaller classifications. Oh, and Granville County is LOADED.

You only get 14 regular season games to see all of this talent, so plan carefully and check out Joel's breakdown here.

IN THE LEAGUE

FROM JOEL BRYANT: Each week, Kyle Morton and I keep track of how former North Carolina high school football players are doing in the NFL. You can watch our show every Tuesday on HighSchoolOT, and see all of our past content here. If you missed the show earlier this week, you can still watch it.

The perfect Pittsburgh Steelers are churning into Baltimore to take on the 5-1 Ravens in this week's biggest matchup. The Steelers receive heavy contributions from starting tight end Eric Ebron (Ben L. Smith) and linebacker Alex Highsmith (Ashley). The Steelers also have former Mallard Creek standout Jaylen Samuels. Ravens defensive back Anthony Levine (R.J. Reynolds) has been out with an abdomen injury for awhile, but he has a chance to play against the Steelers.

On FOX 50 at 1 p.m. on Sunday, NFL fans will be able to watch the Packers take on the Vikings. Rocky River graduate Jaire Alexander has been the premier defensive back in the NFL so far this season. Watch No. 23 cover either Adam Thielen or standout rookie Justin Jefferson. Vikings center Garrett Bradbury (Charlotte Christian) has been one of the league's best, and corner back Mike Hughes (New Bern) has played well recently.

Tampa Bay is looking to keep its hot streak going against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The Buccaneers' special teams unit is made up of kicker Ryan Succop (Hickory) and punter Bradley Pinion (Northwest Cabarrus). The Giants are led by quarterback Daniel Jones (Charlotte Latin) and have been receiving contributions from defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence (Wake Forest) and B.J. Hill (West Stanly). The Giants will have three extra days of rest, too.

Around The State

Here are some high school sports stories and important links you might have missed from around the state and country this week:

How would you like to go up against an offensive tackle who stands at 6-foot-9 and 330 pounds? Well, if you played in Texas you might have to. (via MaxPreps)
I like to find the silver lining in things. Chris Stiles, the sports editor at The Robesonian in Lumberton, found it for some athletes. The delayed sports season is allowing some athletes to heal injuries, meaning they can hopefully go full-strength when the season starts.
Here we go again. Maine has delayed the start of the winter sports season, but it hasn't set a new date. Here's the story from Bangor Daily News. We'll have to watch and see if this becomes a trend... again.
About that trend. Winter sports championships have been canceled in Massachusetts due to COVID-19. Here are the details.
The governor of Illinois has said winter sports must be moved to the spring, but the governing body of high school sports in the state doesn't seem to agree and has indicated it will defy the governor's order. The Chicago Sun Times has the story.

COVID-19 CASES IN WAKE COUNTY ATHLETICS

Wake County high schools have not returned for in-person instruction, but sports teams have been working out for nearly a month now. Volleyball and cross country teams were allowed to begin workouts on Oct. 1. A couple weeks later, basketball, cheerleading, and swimming & diving followed.

This week, the Wake County Public School System announced three cases of COVID-19 at three separate high schools and each was related to the athletic department. This news was not a surprise though. There are going to be cases, but so far, based on the information we have available to us today, it doesn't appear that the cases were transmitted at the workouts. I think it's important to remember that these high school kids can't be in a bubble like NBA players. These kids are living in homes with their families, they're working jobs (many of which involve being around the public), they're doing things outside of school. So just because there is a case among someone at the school doesn't mean participating in sports is a problem.

In fact, I would argue that it appears the protocols and procedures in place work. Wake County athletic director Deran Coe agrees, too. I asked him about it during our webinar last night. Here's what he said:

"We had a couple of cases of COVID that we dealt with earlier in the week, but it was clear that our guidelines worked, and the fact that we were able to mitigate any exposures because we followed our guidelines is certainly a positive story."

NCISAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS WEEKEND

It's going to be a busy weekend for NCISAA state championships. But first, there have already been some state champions crowned this week!

Girls Golf, Division I
Team Champion: North Raleigh Christian (228)
Individual Champion: Amanda Sambach, Cannon School (-5)

Girls Golf, Division II
Team Champion: Wayne Country Day (231)
Individual Champion: Alexsandra Lapple, O'Neal School (E)

Girls Cross Country, 1A
Team Champion: Lee Christian
Individual Champion: Morgan Hudomint, Halifax Academy (22:09.6)

Boys Cross Country, 1A
Team Champion: Lee Christian
Individual Champion: Taylor Anthony, Christ Covenant (18:00.0)

This weekend we have the 1A, 2A, and 3A state championships in boys soccer and volleyball, we also have girls tennis and field hockey state championships. For details about where we'll be, keep scrolling...

WHERE WE'LL BE

High school football continues tonight for private schools in North Carolina, but we've also got playoff action in other sports. Plus, on Saturday, NCISAA state championships will be held in volleyball, boys soccer, field hockey, girls tennis, and cross country.

Here's our coverage plan..

Friday:

Joel Bryant and I will be at St. David's where the undefeated Warriors host Faith Christian. Why? Well, obviously an undefeated team is always intriguing, but Faith Christian is the team that put up 112 points a couple weeks ago and features RB Shaikey Hardy, who rushed for 456 yards and 10 touchdowns in that game.
Kyle Morton is headed east where John Paul II is on the road at Arendell Parrott Academy in Kinston.
J. Mike Blake will be covering two events at Durham Academy. First, DA hosts Wake Christian in the volleyball playoffs at 4:30, then at 6:30 DA hosts Wesleyan Academy in the boys soccer playoffs.

Saturday:

Kyle Morton will be covering the 3A volleyball state championship as Cary Christian faces Asheville Christian at 1 p.m.
Joel Bryant has the 1A boys soccer state championship in Wilson as Greenfield School takes on Grace Christian of Sanford. That game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
J. Mike Blake will have coverage from the 1A volleyball state championship where Kerr-Vance Academy meets Lee Christian at 1 p.m.
Zack Adams has a big day in the Triad. First, at 11:30 a.m., Zack has the 2A volleyball state championship between Gaston Day and Caldwell Academy. At 3 p.m., he will cover the 2A boys soccer state championship between Fayetteville Academy and Westchester Country Day. Then Zack will end the day with the 5 p.m. 3A boys soccer state championship between Concord Academy and Calvary Day.
If you're wondering where I'll be on Saturday, I'll be manning the ship making sure we get all of our coverage up quickly from all of these different events, including results from cross country, tennis, and field hockey.

Be sure you download the free HighSchoolOT app so you don't miss any of our coverage over the weekend. Of course we'll have our scoreboard up and running too.

ICYMI This Week on HSOT

Physicians underscore importance of masks, distancing while playing school sports during pandemic

High school sports can be played safely, but the use of masks and social distancing will be an important part of that, physicians advising 60 North Carolina school districts say.

Calvary Day clips Coastal Christian in 3A boys soccer semis

Calvary Day School will play for the 3A boys soccer state championship on Saturday after a narrow 2-1 win over Coastal Christian in the semifinals this week.

Lee Christian sweeps Pungo Christian in 1A volleyball, advances to state final

A quick 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-16, 25-15) of visiting Pungo Christian put Lee Christian into the 1A volleyball state championship match.

Grace Christian of Sanford shuts out Ridgecroft in 1A soccer semifinals

A convincing 6-0 victory for Grace Christian of Sanford propelled it to the 1A soccer state championship game.

What I'm Watching

I like to be optimistic, and I am very much looking forward to the start of the regular season for high school athletes at NCHSAA schools next week -- at least in volleyball and cross country. That being said, we can't ignore the fact that we are starting to see other states start to pull back on high school sports participation again due to the pandemic. Will that happen in North Carolina? I have no information that says it will, but we need to watch it because we are seeing the case numbers go up in a big way -- and it's happening in areas of the state (and country, for that matter) where previous surges didn't impact as much.

But here's the thing: We all have agency in this. If you're a coach or athlete participating in sports right now, do the right things to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on your team. You're supposed to have fun in high school, but sacrificing the parties and get togethers with your friends could help us bring back sports and keep them going. Wear a mask. Wash your hands -- a lot.

What I'm watching this week, and probably for the next several weeks, is the trend of what other states are doing. Are we seeing more cases pop up within high school athletics in North Carolina? Does more data come out? What happens with the cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and positivity rates here? All of this will impact high school sports -- whether or not we get to resume them, whether or not we get to play through, and whether or not fans get to attend. Fingers crossed. And masks on.

Thank you for reading the HighSchoolOT Newsletter this week. Do you have suggestions, comments, or concerns? You can email me any time at nstevens@wral.com.

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