Rain, sleet and a 28-degree wind-chill factor didn’t stop a group of southern Colorado athletes from standing outside the Pueblo County Courthouse on Tuesday, with signs in hand.

Because to them, this is bigger than football — or mother nature.

Eighteen student-athletes from Pueblo South, Pueblo West and Fountain-Fort Carson gathered for a fall sports protest, in hopes of urging the Colorado High School Activities Association, state lawmakers and health officials to reconsider postponement of most fall sports in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the student-athletes was Fountain-Fort Carson running back Q Jones, whose career has been plagued with injury following his breakout season as a sophomore. Jones had more than 1,400 yards rushing in nine games in 2018, and expected to continue his dominant stretch through his career before suffering a season-ending injury as a junior.

He had hoped his senior year would go on without a hitch.

“Honestly I think that hearing about this whole COVID stuff and pushing the season kind of broke my heart,” Jones said. “A lot of colleges were telling me that they were excited to see what I could do this season and will base scholarships off that, and having to wait is heartbreaking.”

Right now Jones said his family is keeping him motivated, but he also wanted to show his support for other southern Colorado players once he heard about the protest on social media.

“Football is important to a lot of people and it’s a big deal for us to be able to play this season,” Jones said.

Athletes held signs reading, “Football is my way out,” and “In the end we will only regret the chances we don’t take,” among others, and received a few honks from passers-by, but the block remained mostly silent. The steps of the courthouse were blocked off with caution tape and signs, though it is unclear if it was in response to Tuesday’s demonstration.

In a press conference Tuesday morning Gov. Jared Polis said he is open to working with CHSAA on a new plan.

“If (the CHSAA) board moves forward and wants to propose a fall season, we would be thrilled to make that happen for the districts that are ready to go,” Polis said.

Event organizer Jace Bellah, a junior quarterback for Pueblo South, is happy to have a small part in the process.

“All my teammates really want to get back out there. They’re really good guys, and we really want to show how much this sport means to us,” Bellah said. “And I feel like the state of Colorado can do a really good job if we decide to play football this fall.”

Their demonstration comes a day after CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green announced she plans to meet with Polis and his coronavirus response team this week to discuss a reevaluation of the 2020-21 sports calendar, which postpones most fall sports to early spring, including football.

“I was super excited (when I heard CHSAA was reconsidering) because at that point I didn’t know if they were listening, but after that it just gave me more hope and I really wanted to get people organized and get this moving so we can play fall sports,” Bellah said. “Gov. Polis is paying attention and this is just another step to show how much we care and how much we want to play sports this fall.”