A roller-coaster fall for the Choctaw Central football team reached its latest incline as the team was forced to quarantine for 14 days after just one game under their belts.

Misty Brescia Dreifuss, director of public information for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, said a junior varsity football player took a mandatory COVID-19 test prior to basketball tryouts at the school, and his test came back positive. Due to his interactions with the rest of the Warriors’ football team, the players and coaches began a 14-day quarantine out of an abundance of caution, though Dreifuss and head football coach Pepper Posey said subsequent tests for COVID-19 among the rest of the players and staff came back negative when those tests were conducted at the beginning of last week.

The quarantine didn’t affect the Warriors’ schedule last week, as they had a bye on Sept. 11, but it forced them to cancel Friday’s game against Lake. It’s yet another frustration for the football team, as the Warriors had to wait until August to begin summer conditioning due to the tribe being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Choctaw Central was forced to cancel the game with Lake despite there being no active outbreak within the team.

“We still don’t have a positive case from all of that,” Dreifuss said. “When they ride the bus, they have to wear masks, and they’ve been taking turns in the locker room so all 60 of them (players and staff) aren’t doing so at the same time. We feel like the coaches and staff at Choctaw Central have done everything they can, and one of those things was to unfortunately cancel the game on Friday with Lake. They’re now under quarantine as a precaution, following CDC guidelines.”

Posey described the setback as part of this season’s emotional roller coaster, but as much as he wants his players to be able to play, he said their health and safety takes precedent.

“I know my feelings as a coach,” Posey said. “I’ve been doing this for a pretty good while — not as long as some, but longer than others — and sometimes you can’t help but let your feelings out, especially when it comes to these kids and especially the seniors with what they’ve been through.”

Part of the frustration, Posey said, is being able to get his players ready to play Nanih Waiya on Sept. 3 after starting summer conditioning so late, only to have to cancel their next game and once again get players back into playing shape following the quarantine.

“They made a commitment to it, and they knew the odds were against them to get ready in four weeks, but we did play our first game,” Posey said. “I thought we had this COVID deal straightened out. We had been up against the wall battling it, and then all of a sudden one of our JV players comes up with it. The right thing to do at that point was to ensure the safety of not only our own people but also the people we’re supposed to play against.”

With all of the ups and downs, Posey likened the coronavirus to a thorn in his side, referencing the Apostle Paul from the Bible.

“We’ve had over 60 players, managers, coaches, bus drivers all tested, and none of us were positive, but (going by) the CDC guidelines you can develop symptoms within 10 to 14 days,” Posey said. “It’s hard, but the rules and regulations are what they are. It’s hard to tell the boys that we have to quarantine even though we all tested negative. I hope I never hear the word COVID again after all this.”

The quarantine period began last week and ends on Friday, and the Warriors will begin a five-day re-acclimation process Friday designed to ease them back into regular practices and games. 

“We don’t want anyone to think the whole team has COVID; that’s not the case,” Dreifuss said. “This is a precautionary quarantine, and we expect them to be ready to play next week.”

Posey also said he expects to play the Warriors’ Sept. 25 game at Richland. When the quarantine began, he sent out workouts for the players to do at home as long as they were healthy.

“Those include sprints and conditioning and a lot of body weight exercises they can do at home,” Posey explained. “I sent out another workout that ramps it up a bit. Hopefully they’ve been doing what they’re supposed to, and if they’re committed like I know they are, they should come in, in better shape because I put a lot of running in there.”

Dreifuss said everyone is frustrated by the setback, but they all understand erring on the side of caution.

“We’re not the first school to go through this, and we won’t be the last,” Dreifuss said. “Our Warrior fans are ready. They want to see these guys playing, and they’ve been supportive of the entire process. Players, parents, fans, everyone has been great. They all know it’s better to be safe than sorry.”