South Fayette traveling to Ohio for football opener
South Fayette head coach Joe Rossi sometimes suffers with insomnia during the football season, but rarely prior to the start of one.
Rossi, however, woke at 3 a.m. last week after he learned the Lions’ conference Sept. 11 opener at Peters Township was postponed because COVID-19 visited that school district.
“I had to find us a game,” Rossi said. “These kids have worked too hard not to have the opportunity to play.”
Rossi surfed the internet and looked around for other teams to play, even in Morgantown. On a tip from a buddy, Rossi said he learned Dover High School in Ohio had an open date. The Lions will face the Tornadoes at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Crater Stadium.
According to Rossi, the 1-hour and 45-minute journey is closer than traveling to Latrobe, which is on the Lions’ schedule for Sept. 25. But that game may be canceled to accommodate a reschedule with Peters Township.
The trip will be unlike any of the Lions’ travels. Because of a generous booster group, South Fayette typically stops for dinner and takes a tour bus for games to longer destinations like Indiana. During their PIAA championship runs, the Lions often visited Hershey
“We always like to make them fun trips, but this is not like any other year,” Rossi said. “We are just so happy to give these kids a chance to play.”
South Fayette will follow all protocols. They will board a school bus, dressed in uniform save for helmets and shoulder pads. There will be no pit stops.
At the stadium, there will be no use of locker rooms. Halftime is limited to 10 minutes. The home-team band will perform at that time but there are no accommodations for visiting bands.
“It’s on the bus, off the bus. No stopping,” Rossi said. “It’s safety first. We are not going to put anybody in jeopardy.”
The Ohio High School Athletic Association even has implemented rules and regulations one won’t see at WPIAL games this fall. Each team is responsible for retrieving its own football when on offense.
“It’s nothing we don’t already do in practices,” Rossi said. “It’s all about limiting exposure.”
As he reviewed the OHSAA guidelines, Rossi noted the league is taking as many precautions as the Lions are; sanitizing everything and wearing masks.
“They are doing all the same things,” he said.
One difference is the Lions will be playing in front of a crowd. A limited amount of tickets for the game have been issued. They will be distributed among the parents and school administrators.
“This is tremendous,” Rossi said.
Rossi said he told his wife that was a major reason why he sought an out-of-town opponent. Until Sept. 2, spectators were not allowed to attend athletic contests in Pennsylvania.
“If these parents can come see their children play just once, then I’m going to take advantage of that opportunity,” Rossi said. “It’s important to me.”
Dover already has played two games, including facing highly-regarded Steubenville last week. That doesn’t matter to Rossi.
“Sure them having two games under their belt is a concern, but who cares,” he said. “We just want to play football.
“People are going everywhere to play sports. It’s not just in school. It’s AAU and tournament teams. It’s no different than us going to Latrobe or St. Clair in our backyard. We just have to be smart when we do it.”