By: Riley Haltom
With the return of sports amidst the coronavirus pandemic, certain precautions must be taken for the safety of players, coaches and spectators. In the state of Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee has allowed each school district to dictate their own policies regarding attendance to high school games and whether they even occur. Luckily for fans of Chester County High School sports, the school board elected to continue on with games, but with limited capacity. The current policy by the Chester County Board of Education for football games involves checking temperatures at the gate, masks being required to enter the stadium, no entry until 5:45, only 1,000 tickets will be sold, cheerleaders will be socially distanced, bands will not be allowed, concessions will run with precautions, students below the 9th grade require an adult to enter and children must remain with their parents throughout the duration of the game. CCHS football has always had incredible community support, so you can expect those tickets to run out very fast. Get to the field early to guarantee a spot for you and your family.
Fans can take this into consideration as the first home game will occur on Friday versus Jackson Christian School, who are coming off an impressive 47-0 win over First Assembly Christian School. Meanwhile, our Chester County Eagles fell in an extremely close game against Fayette-Ware, where Tony Washington shined in his first start for the Eagles. The battle of the Eagles will kickoff at 6:30 at Eagle Stadium.
Kale Epperson, senior football player and starting cornerback, explained how fans affect his performance on the field.
“Fans make you want to play harder than ever before. There’s nothing like hearing the crowd go crazy when your team makes a huge play.”
Epperson described how the precautions have impacted the practices for the Eagles.
“They’ve changed practice a lot. We’ve been having to wear our masks during workouts, which make it harder to breathe.”
Head Coach Steve Robinson had this to say of how the precautions and limited capacity will affect support for the Eagles.
“The Eagle fans have always been supportive of their teams. Come rain, shine, or COVID, our community will support the kids. Our football facilities are well equipped to handle larger crowds so we will be able to spread out enough so that the fans can still enjoy the games. All in all, our fans can now yell a little louder and cheer a little longer for their Eagles.”
I had a fan, CCHS sophomore Brett Tims, give his opinion on the smaller capacity in the stadium.
“I think it’s necessary to reduce COVID cases. To continue with fall sports, there has to be smaller capacities and if you don’t, there is a higher possibility fans will contract COVID.”
I also asked Tims how wearing masks in the stadium will affect his experience at the football games.
“Masks can decrease your chance of getting COVID-19, and Chester County is taking the necessary precautions by setting these guidelines to reduce chances of contracting the coronavirus.”
Eagles fans, CCHS is taking major precautions to protect your health. Come and support your Eagles in a safe manner!
