With three more school districts announcing over the weekend that they are suspending all fall sports or football, the coronavirus has now adversely impacted at least eight high school athletics programs statewide.

Patrick McQueeney, acting superintendent of Sparta Township Public Schools, announced in a letter to the school-community Sunday that Sparta High School’s fall sports programs have been suspended until Oct. 5 after members of the football and girls soccer teams tested positive for COVID-19. 

Washington Township Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Bollendorf announced in a letter to his school community Sunday that Washington Township High School’s athletics programs have been suspended until further notice.

“The high school has experienced multiple COVID-19 cases that have impacted some of our sports teams,” Bollendorf wrote. 

“This weekend I was made aware of a large gathering of our high school seniors. Unfortunately, there is much evidence to show that neither social distancing nor face coverings were in place.”

Delran High School, according to an NJ.com report, has shut down its gridiron squad until Sept. 29 due to coronavirus-related concerns.

McQueeney said his district’s recent reported cases of COVID-19 “could be originiating from students gathering socially.”

He strongly encouraged all students and their families to not gather in large groups, always wear a mask in the presence of others and maintain appropriate social distancing. 

“Engaging in unsafe behaviors that result in the transmission of the virus among members of our school community could impact our ability to continue our fall athletic seasons and endanger a potential return to school,” McQueeney wrote.

Transmission need not occur among team members for a single sport or an entire athletics program to be suspended.

No matter how mindful student-athletes and coaches are about mitigating spread of COVID-19 and adhering to the NJSIAA’s safety protocols, circumstances out of their control may keep them off the field.

As more school districts shift from all-remote to hybrid instruction – returning students and staff to campus for some form of in-person learning – the chance of scholastic sports programs being suspended due to coronavirus-related issues is expected to rise.

“That’s an interesting problem,” said Woodbridge Township School District Superintendent Robert Zega, whose district is the state’s eighth largest and has three high schools.

Under state Department of Education recommendations for school closings amid the pandemic, two or more positive COVID-19 tests among students and/or staff at a school, under specific scenarios, could lead to buildings being shut for at least two weeks. 

If two or more individuals at a school, for example, are confirmed positive within two weeks and a clear connection between those cases cannot be easily identified, the recommendation is to close school for 14 days.

While decisions on school closings are ultimately left to local school and public health officials, according to the state’s guidelines, Zega said he believes districts will likely find it impossible to justify keeping campuses open for athletics when schools are closed due to COVID-19 positive tests, even if players and coaches are not infected.

At least nine school districts who commenced the academic year with some form of in-person instruction have already had to close schools for an extended period due to coronavirus-related issues.

Athletics programs at five high schools have simultaneously been affected with sports practices being suspended at Bernards, Chatham, Pompton Lakes, Westfield and Verona.

Season-opening contests for at least three of those high schools appear to be in jeopardy. Postponements and cancelations will obviously impact their opponents, as well.

Nearly one-third of New Jersey’s school districts commenced the academic year all-remote. Almost all plan to introduce some form of in-person instruction this school year, many as early as next month.

“Just the sheer probability of someone testing positive is larger,” Zega said, referring to students and staff returning to campuses where athletes, marching band members, cheerleaders and coaches previously roamed alone.

Sports teams at high schools currently studying all-remote don’t have to shut down under specific scenarios if two or more classmates and/or educators from that school who are not in contact with that specific team happen to test positive for the coronavirus for the simple reason that the school is not open and practices with healthy student-athletes and coaches are permitted to continue.

The odds of athletics being suspended changes, however, with more districts shifting to hybrid instruction, as state Department of Education recommendations for school closings with COVID-19 cases will likely have a greater impact on sidelining teams. 

Multiple school districts in Kansas will only permit their football teams to play if students are learning virtually, creating a bubble concept, according to National Federation of High School Associations Executive Director Karissa Niehoff. What happens if those districts shift to hybrid instruction before the season concludes remains to be seen.

Zega said he believes extending an all-remote schedule for the sake of preserving athletics is a non-starter.

“The goal is to bring in-person education back,” Zega said. “To forgo in-person instruction to preserve the sports season, I don’t know if that’s the perspective that districts would want to take.”

As vigilant as student-athletes and coaches have been about adhering to the NJSIAA’s return-to-play guidelines, getting onto the field, in some instances, may be out of their hands.

As of last Friday, according to published reports and tracking from the National Education Association, at least 65 students and staff in 25 school districts statewide have tested positive for the coronavirus since the academic year commenced. Eleven high schools have reported positive COVID-19 tests among students and staff as of last Friday, as well.

“It’s concerning and you hope it doesn’t happen in your district,” Zega said, noting hundreds of student-athletes in Woodbridge Township successfully completed the NJSIAA’s three phases of voluntary summer workouts from July 13 through Aug. 28 without incident.

Not all high school sports programs were as fortunate during the summer.

According to a survey of 152 athletic trainers, 36 schools (23%) had a reason to shut down a workout pod of athletes and 19 schools (12%) shut down an individual sports team due to COVID-19 exposure.

Zega said he was encouraged while driving around Woodbridge Township Thursday, visiting his district’s three high school campuses at the end of the school day to watch teams prepare for the upcoming season.

The fall campaign is scheduled to commence Sept. 28 for tennis, Oct. 2 for football and Oct. 1 for all other sports.  

“Hundreds of kids were out there practicing,” Zega said of his Thursday travels. “But they know that with a couple positive cases, it all comes crashing down.”

Email: gtufaro@gannett.com