Hawthorne Football Again Inactive, Citing COVID-19 Concerns

Coach Cornelius Ingram’s Hawthorne football team sits ready to make do on the strides his young team has made since their fall camp.

However, his Hornets were again left out to dry, not playing for the second straight Friday due to COVID-19 concerns.

In his appearance on SportsScene with Steve Russell Wednesday afternoon, Ingram clarified the rationale of his team not playing Friday.

He stated that Mount Dora contacted them and canceled Hawthorne’s third game on their 2020 schedule in wake of an entire team quarantine for the Hornets.

Ingram explained that a person that tested positive for COVID-19 recently exposed a Hawthorne player to the virus. The team had been in isolation until Wednesday, their first day back on campus.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Hawthorne, who fell victim to a similar cancellation in their planned road trip to Middleburg last Friday.

“…These other teams have to make a bit of a business decision as far as moving on and finding someone else to play,” said Ingram, whose leadership has earned the Hornets a 2-0 start to a season lauded with high hopes.

As of Wednesday, Hawthorne Athletics actively sought out a potential makeup game for Friday night. Their efforts served unsuccessful, confirmed by a midday tweet from Hawthorne Mayor, Matt Surrency.

Hawthorne athletic director, Dustin Adkins, retweeted the message just hours before high school football kicked off around Central Florida Friday night.

@HMHSHornets @HHS_Football352 game has been cancelled and we are unable to find another opponent. #ALLIN #GoHornets@Coach_Daniels58 @Coachadkinsd @CIngram_85 @CoachBowie_HHS

— Mayor Matt Surrency (@MATTSURRENCY) September 25, 2020

Thankfully, Ingram revealed that all Hawthorne players tested negative, clearing them to return.

Looking to Next Week

As for now, the Hornets look ahead to next week when they are slated to host P.K. Yonge in what could be an exciting matchup, should it happen.

Ingram remains positive about the status of his team’s season, as they will do what they can amid the uncertainty.

“It’s so unpredictable, and we kind of go in with an open mind because it’s not only happening to us… It’s something that we’ve kind of got to get used to.”