2020 IN REVIEWCOVID-19 made for a tumultuous year in local sports

Wyoming Seminary won its third consecutive Class A state field hockey championship on Nov. 21. The accomplishment would be among the top-10 sports stories of the year locally — perhaps the top story — under normal circumstances.

Circumstances, though, were anything but normal during the local 2020 sports season. The COVID-19 pandemic put local sports — be it youth, scholastic, collegiate or professional — on a 10-month roller coaster. Hope was often replaced by hopelessness then only to be reversed a few days or weeks later.

And as the final few days of 2020 click off, there’s no idea what 2021 will bring to local sports.

The first sign of trouble came in the second week of March. Here’s how the situation played out throughout the year.

MARCH

March 10: The Dallas boys basketball team defeats York’s William Penn 78-51 in the PIAA Class 5A second round. The game is the final sporting event involving a Wyoming Valley Conference team until Aug. 28.

March 11: The first sign the COVID-19 pandemic could affect high school sports comes from out of the area. Mt. Lebanon decides not to play a Class 6A second-round game against Cheltenham, which shuts down its schools due to COVID-19 exposure to the parent of a student.

March 11: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins play their final game of the season against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Allentown’s PPL Center before the AHL shuts down the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 11: The Renal Race, scheduled for March 15 in Wilkes-Barre, and the Wyoming Valley Striders’ season-opening Winter’s End 4.5 Mile Run, scheduled for March 22 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, are postponed.

March 12: Dallas’ quest for a boys basketball state championship is on hold as the PIAA postpones the state championships in boys and girls basketball and Class 2A swimming and diving for two weeks.

The suspension affects about two dozen Wyoming Valley Conference Class 2A swimmers and divers.

March 12: Penn State football cancels the annual Blue-White Game.

March 12: The Middle Atlantic Conferences announces that all spring sports will be suspended through March 30. All Division III championship events are canceled by the NCAA.

King’s and Misericordia extend their athletics postponements past the MAC date and call off events through April 14.

March 12: The AHL indefinitely suspends play with the regular-season schedule winding down.

March 12: Major League Baseball suspends all spring training operations and announced a delay to the start of the season.

The same will apply to the minor leagues, including the International League and the start of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders season. The RailRiders were set to open the 2020 campaign on April 9 at PNC Field. As of now, there is no set date to start the season.

March 12: Little League International is asking volunteers and families to delay their seasons to begin no earlier than April 6. Local Little League programs are asked to suspend all activities, including games, practices and fundraisers.

March 12: The annual Scranton Half Marathon, scheduled for March 29, is postponed.

March 12: The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono cancels the weekend’s harness racing schedule.

March 16: King’s, Misericordia and Wilkes find out that their spring seasons are officially over when the Middle Athletic Conference announces the cancellation of all seasons.

March 16: George P. Moses Senior All-Star Games are postponed and eventually canceled. The games, which feature the top senior basketball players in the Wyoming Valley Conference, were scheduled for March 27 at Holy Redeemer High School.

March 30: The PIAA Board of Directors meets via video conference, but don’t discuss canceling either the state basketball and swimming championships or the spring sports season.

APRIL

April 9: The PIAA cancels the remaining basketball and swimming championships and suspends all sports indefinitely. The announcement comes hours before Gov. Tom Wolf closes all schools for the remainder of the academic year. The shutdown means no athletics until July 1 at the earliest.

The Dallas boys basketball team was schedule to play Archbishop Wood in the 5A quarterfinals on March 13. The cancellation also affects about two dozen Wyoming Valley Conference swimmers scheduled to participate in the state meet March 13 and 112 WVC spring sports teams. The spring sports season was to start locally on March 16.

April 10: The annual UNICO All-Star Football Game scheduled for May 27 at Wyoming Area is canceled.

The game, which features the top seniors from the Wyoming Valley Conference, was canceled only once before since its inception in 1952. That came in 1972 because of the Agnes Flood.

April 12: The Pennsylvania Department of the American Legion pulls the plug on the baseball season. The announcement comes a week after regional tournaments and the World Series were canceled.

The local American Legion schedule usually starts in early June and runs through early August, so the state’s decision comes seven weeks before the first games.

April 14: The Big 33 Game is canceled. The game is run by the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association and was scheduled for May 25 at Central Dauphin High School.

Tunkhannock kicker Jaxon Montross was the only WVC player scheduled to participate in the Big 33 Game. He was the first WVC player chosen since 2016.

April 15: Little League International suspends all leagues and league-related activities until May 11.

April 30: Little League International cancels regional tournaments and the World Series in six divisions, including the popular major baseball championships in Williamsport.

MAY

May 2: Pennsylvania district administrators cancel all Little League sectional and state playoffs, allowing some leeway to starting the season late on local levels.

May 4: District 16/31 administrator Bob Bertoni holds an online meeting with the presidents of the 18 Luzerne County leagues which comprise Districts 16 and 31. A decision is made to wait until June 3 before determining if a season can be played.

May 5: Organizers of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Half Marathon announce that this year’s race has been canceled.

The inaugural version of the race was set for July 19 and was to start on Market Street in front of City Hall and finish on Public Square. It is just one of many local runs to either be canceled or postponed.

May 11: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season is officially over as the AHL announces the rest of the 2019-20 season, along with the Calder Cup Playoffs, would be canceled.

May 18: Gov. Tom Wolf says that Pocono Raceway can hold the NASCAR races on June 27 and 28 without fans, provided the COVID-19 pandemic improves in Monroe County.

Wolf says Monroe County needs to be in the yellow phase in order to hold the races and must follow COVID-19 guidelines.

May 20: The PIAA Board of Directors vote unanimously to give Executive Director Bob Lombardi the authority to permit offseason sports workouts prior to the association’s July 1 suspension date — provided a county is given permission by the governor’s office to do so.

Schools which enter the green phase prior to July 1 under Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to re-open the state will be allowed to start athletic activities with Lombardi’s approval.

May 20: Luzerne County will not play host to the Keystone State Games and Pennsylvania Senior Games this summer as the multi-day sports festivals are canceled.

May 28: District 16/31 Little League suspends all activities for the remainder of the spring season, but that doesn’t mean there will be no baseball or softball this year.

The district staff and 18 league presidents were unanimous in the decision to wait until Luzerne County reaches the phase-out stage in Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to open the state. The county is set to move to the yellow phase.

JUNE

June 10: The office of Gov. Tom Wolf releases preliminary guidance for the resumption of sports on all level in the state.

Scholastic athletic programs can resume activities under the following guidelines. Schools must be in counties in either the yellow or green phase in the governor’s plan to reopen the state. Resumption of voluntary conditioning, practices and and games will be at the discretion of the school.

A school must form an athletic and safety plan approved by the school’s governing body. Facilities can not exceed more than 50% capacity and are limited to student athletes, coaches, officials and staff.

Recreational and amateur sports are permitted to conduct in-person activities, practice and games in counties designated as being in the green phase only. They must follow a list of guidelines used for all levels of sports as well as CDC guidance on youth sports.

June 10: Little League likely won’t be starting soon locally because the restrictions under the green phase would be too much of a burden on leagues.

June 13: The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono resumes live racing without spectators.

June 16: The 25th annual Steamtown Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 11, is canceled. The 26.2-mile road is conducted from Forest City to downtown Scranton each fall.

June 16: The PIAA is optimistic the fall sports season will start on time. The first date for official fall practice is Aug. 17, but voluntary offseason workouts were on hold. The situation changed when the state allowed scholastic sports to resume last week, using guidelines from the state to help school districts develop a return-to-play plan specific to their student-athletes.

June 16: Little Leagues inside Districts 16 and 31 are given permission to resume in three days.

District 16/31 administrator Bob Bertoni says it will be up to individual leagues to decide when they want to get on the field.

June 23: The Baseball U Collegiate Summer League debuts in the area. Misericordia’s Pete Egbert, Scranton’s Mike Bartoletti and Keystone’s Jamie Shevlock are the driving force to the league’s creation. The three coaches met with Mike Guy, director of the Scranton-based Baseball U of Pennsylvania to form the new league.

The players either have remaining college eligibility or are recent high school graduates who plan on playing at the college level.

June 27 and 28: The Pocono Raceway doubleheader takes place Kevin Harvick winning the first race and Denny Hamlin winning the next day.

June 30: Baseball’s minor leagues cancels their seasons, meaning there will be no Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders games this summer.

The parent New York Yankees, though, will use PNC Field in Moosic as their alternative training site for players not on the major league roster.

JULY

July 2: The PIAA Board of Directors approves its Return To Competition plan by a 29-3 vote. Just when fall sports will begin will be determined be schools, leagues and conferences based on a three plans proposed by the PIAA.

The directors also voted unanimously to allow teams which don’t make the postseason to continue playing regular-season games past the PIAA regular-season deadline in order to make up for any games lost due to COVID-19.

The PIAA has alternative plans in place for postseason, including state tournaments which will include only district champions.

July 9: Penn State will not open the season against Kent State. Nor will the Nittany Lions make their long-awaited trip to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech for the first time. San Jose State will not visit Happy Valley.

In the first major concession toward playing college football during a pandemic, the Big Ten cancels the non-conference schedules of all of its fall sports.

July 10: The Middle Atlantic Conference announces plans to play in the fall while restricting competitions to exclusively MAC schools, with a delayed start date of Sept. 18 at the earliest. King’s, Misericordia and Wilkes are MAC members.

July 13: Districts 16 and 31 Little League officials recommend the suspension activities for one week.

District 16/31 administrator Bob Bertoni sends out an email saying a number of students in the districts have tested positive for COVID-19 and he is getting reports that people are traveling out the state and not adhering to the 14-day quarantine.

July 15: PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi says during a Board of Directors meeting the plan is to remain on the same schedule despite the COVID-19 pandemic. That would mean official fall sports practices would begin Aug. 17, with most sports starting play two weeks later.

July 16: District 2 takes a wait-and-see approach to determining who will be admitted to football games if the current COVID-19 gathering restrictions remain in place.

Several ideas are bounced around regarding the 250-person maximum outdoor gathering number set by Gov. Tom Wolf. They involve how to handle teams, cheerleaders, bands, parents and fans.

July 24: The Middle Atlantic Conference suspends all athletics through Dec. 31. The move ends any hope of playing for King’s, Misericordia and Wilkes for the rest of 2020. It also means MAC winter sports can’t begin until 2021.

July 28: The Nanticoke Area School District shuts down voluntary workouts in all sports after five football players were in contact with people who tested positive for COVID-19.

July 31: The Abington Heights School District suspends all fall sports until further notice. Although Abington Heights fall sports teams play mainly in the Lackawanna League, the field hockey team is a member of the Wyoming Valley Conference.

Abington Heights will eventually cancel fall seasons in sports it deems as contact sports and plays just golf and girls tennis. Carbondale and WVC member MMI Prep will take their COVID-19 concerns a step further and cancel all fall sports.

AUGUST

Aug. 2: Irem Temple Country Club holds its annual Potentate Tournament on time, but slices the event from three days to two.

Aug. 4: The Wyoming Valley Conference plans on proceeding with fall sports as scheduled, but there could be an issue to tackle. The Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association might not do the same. The two have a large number of crossover games scheduled in all sports.

The LIAA is strongly considering pushing back the start of the fall season.

Aug. 5: Penn State is scheduled to play 10 games, starting with Northwestern on Sept. 5. The Nittany Lions will play the nine Big Ten opponents they were originally set to face this season plus an added game at Illinois at the end of the campaign on Nov. 21.

Aug. 6: Call it the mic drop moment.

Gov. Tom Wolf ends a press conference by saying that not only should fans not be in attendance at scholastic sporting events, but that the games themselves should not held until Jan. 1 because of COVID-19 concerns.

Wolf made the comment after asked a question about spectators at scholastic sports during a press conference. He walks off without taking any follow-up questions.

Aug. 6: The Wyoming Valley Conference members agree to have teams play only against opponents within the conference in all sports.

Aug. 6: If Penn State is able to kick off its 2020 football schedule against Northwestern on Sept. 5, it will most likely be in an empty Beaver Stadium.

Aug. 7: The PIAA Board of Directors vote 30-2 to delay the start of the fall sports season until Aug. 24 in order to open a dialogue with Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, the legislature and other stakeholders.

The PIAA is seeking clarity in Wolf’s statement that he strongly recommends scholastic and recreational youth sports be suspended until Jan. 1.

Wolf later says in a press release his statement was a strong recommendation and not an order or mandate.

Aug. 10: The Hanover Area School District shuts down all voluntary sports activities for two weeks due to a confirmed COVID-19 case and the possibility of another.

Aug. 11: Rep. Mike Reese (R-Westmoreland/Somerset) introduces a bill that would allow Pennsylvania’s local school districts to make decisions regarding fall sports and activities.

Rep. Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Franklin/Fulton) introduces a bill that would allow students and families to have the option to continue the student’s education and extracurricular activities for an additional year to make up for the loss of instruction and competition during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.

Aug. 11: For the first time since 1886, Penn State will not be playing football in the fall. Despite pleas from James Franklin and other conference head coaches, Big Ten presidents vote to postpone all fall sports with the hopes of playing in the spring.

The decision also affects men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball across the Big Ten’s 14 universities.

Aug. 12: The PIAA reaches out to Gov. Tom Wolf via letter, saying if scholastic sports are canceled in the fall, student-athletes will find alternative ways to play during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter from PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi stresses “that sports are going to be played by youth, whether within the PIAA structure or otherwise and that doing so within the educational umbrella may provide the safest means for that to occur.”

Aug. 13: Gov. Tom Wolf says he received a letter from the PIAA regarding fall sports, but acknowledges he hasn’t read it. He also continues his recommendation that scholastic and youth recreational sports should be suspended until Jan. 1.

Aug. 13: The revised Wyoming Valley Conference football schedule adds a week but loses a much-anticipated showdown.

WVC athletic directors approve a new eight-week football season. Gone, though, is a matchup between Berwick and Southern Columbia. The two teams haven’t played since 1965.

Aug. 14: The 74th John A. Allan tournament at Fox Hill Country Club takes place. It was originally scheduled for June 26-28 before being postponed.

Aug. 18: The debate over scholastic sports continues as Pennsylvania’s Athletic Oversight Committee hears testimonies from school officials and coaches who say sports can be played as scheduled with proper safeguards in place.

Aug. 19: Another marquee matchup is nixed from the Wyoming Valley Conference football schedule – a battle between two defending state champions.

The Heartland Athletic Conference votes to play conference only-games, meaning defending Class 3A champion Wyoming Area won’t be headed to defending Class 2A champion Southern Columbia.

Aug. 20: Republican-sponsored legislation that would give Pennsylvania school districts the final say over whether to hold sports and other activities clears a House committee one day before the PIAA is to make a decision on playing fall sports.

Aug. 21: The PIAA Board of Directors votes 25-5 to hold fall sports despite a strong recommendation from Gov. Tom Wolf to cancel scholastic and youth recreation sports until Jan. 1.

Practices can begin Aug. 24 for all sports. Participation will come down to individual school districts.

Aug. 24: Wyoming Valley West and Hanover Area don’t start fall sports as their school boards decide they want to vote on whether it’s safe to proceed.

Aug. 27: The Wyoming Valley West School Board votes whether to approve/disapprove fall sports and extra curricular activities and ties 4-4. Solicitor Richard Goldberg says the tie results in the motion failing, but the virtual meeting is cut off immediately and leaves confusion on what exactly that means.

It’s cleared up a short time later that a tied vote meant the motion reverted back to the previous vote to allow fall sports.

Aug. 27: The Hanover Area School Board votes to suspend fall sports by a 5-3 vote.

Aug. 28: More than five months after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high school sports, Wyoming Valley Conference teams return to competition. The golf season opens at Lehman Golf Club as Holy Redeemer defeats Wyoming Area 156-180.

Aug. 31: The Hanover Area School Board votes 5-1 to rescind a previous vote to cancel fall sports and extracurricular activities. Team can resume practice as soon as possible.

Augu. 31: The Wyoming Valley West School Board agrees to keep the previous vote on fall sports and extracurricular activities, meaning both will continue.

Aug. 31: The Pennsylvania Senate joins the House of Representatives by passing a bill that would give school districts and private schools the ability to decide whether to have scholastic sports and extracurricular activities.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 2: A subtle change in Gov. Tom Wolf’s high school sports guidelines will allow spectators to attend sporting events. But don’t expect huge crowds.

The update still sets the limit of 250 at outdoor sports-related activities and 25 at indoor sports-related activities. However, the line “visitors and spectators are prohibited from attending in-person sports-related activities” has been eliminated.

The 250 and 25 numbers include everyone in attendance, including teams, coaches, game officials, media and school personnel.

Sept. 11: The Wyoming Valley Conference football season starts, but the Tunkhannock at Dallas game is scratched due to a positive COVID-19 test in the Dallas community.

Several more games will be canceled or postponed, and nearly every team has to scramble to find new opponents some time during the season.

Sept. 12: The Wyoming Valley Country Club’s McCarthy Tournament is completed. It was postponed twice — in June and July.

Sept. 21: Gov. Tom Wolf says he will veto of a bill that would give school districts the sole ability to make decisions on sports, including whether and how many spectators to allow.

Sept. 23: The PIAA Board of Directors decides to allow individual schools to determine how many spectators are allowed at sporting events.

The decision comes about an hour after House Bill 2787, which would allow individual schools to determine rules on spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic, failed to get the two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives to override a veto by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Sept. 29: The Berwick School District suspended sports and other extracurricular activities until at least Oct. 4 because of a fifth positive COVID-19 test.

OCTOBER

Oct. 6: The Pennsylvania Department of Heath amends its gathering orders, changing the maximum number of attendees from 250 outdoors and 25 indoors.

For outdoor events, venues holding up to 2,000 people can have a maximum occupancy of 25%. Those holding 2,001-10,000 can have a maximum occupancy of 20%. Venues holding 10,000 can have 15% of its maximum occupancy up to 7,500 people.

For indoor events, a venue with a capacity up to 2,000 will be allowed to have a maximum occupancy of 20%. For venues capable of holding 2,001-10,000, the percentage is 15%. Venues over 10,000 can have a 10 percent maximum capacity up to 3,750 people.

Oct. 7: The PIAA Board of Directors approves new fall sports playoff brackets. All fall state playoffs will use champions-only formats.

Oct. 9: Two confirmed COVID-19 tests force Hanover Area to suspend all activities until Oct. 19 for all sports but football. Football will be shut down until Oct. 22.

Over 40 people are in quarantine, including students, faculty, administrators and transportation and food workers.

Oct. 18: The Northwest Area School District halts fall sports and other extra curricular activities for at least two weeks because of a positive COVID-19 test within the school community. The shutdown means the end of the Northwest football season.

Oct. 21: The Pittston Area School District shuts down its football program, canceling the final two games because of a COVID-19 situation. All other Pittston Area sports teams will continue playing.

Oct. 25: The Wyoming Valley Striders hold their first race of 2020 with the 33nd Annual Fall Age-Group Graded 5.5 Mile Trail Run at Frances Slocum State Park.

Oct. 26: The Wyoming Valley West School District decides to end all its fall sports programs because of COVID-19 concerns.

Oct. 28: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will not take the ice until at least February 2021, according to a press release issued by the AHL.

Oct. 28: The PIAA remains on track to start winter sports on time. The first official day for winter sports practice is Nov. 20. PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi says the PIAA Sports Medicine Committee recommended having winter sports.

Oct. 30: After Pittston Area’s football season was shut down nine days earlier, the Patriots will be allowed to return to the field one more time on Nov. 7 to play rival Wyoming Area.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 13: The Wyoming Valley West football team and Crestwood field hockey team are forced to forfeit PIAA state playoffs games because of COVID-19 situations.

Nov. 18: The PIAA Board of Directors votes 30-1 to comply with the Department of Health’s decision that all student-athletes should wear masks because of COVID-19 whether they are active participants or not, but adds it will instruct its member schools to consult with their individual school solicitor to see if they comply with any exceptions to the rule.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced earlier in the day that masks must be worn by high school athletes among other citizens under various circumstances, although there are some exceptions.

Nov. 19: The Wyoming Valley Conference will begin practices the next day for winter sports, but not all schools are planning to start on time and one will not participate.

MMI Prep will not field boys and girls basketball teams due to COVID-19 concerns. Others decide to delay their starts.

The Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association will wait until later. The LIAA school superintendents vote 20-3 on to push back winter sports until Dec. 4.

Nov. 20: The Pennsylvania Department of Health amends its mask order and will not require athletes to wear masks while playing.

DECEMBER

Dec. 7: All but three Wyoming Valley Conference schools decide to push back the start of the winter season until Jan. 4.

Dec. 9: The Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association moves its start date for winter sports from Jan. 4 to Jan. 11.

Dec. 9: The PIAA decides to start the winter sports season on time despite a rise of COVID-19 cases throughout the state. That means games can be played starting Dec. 11, although there will be none locally.

Teams would still need 15 practices before holding a competition.

The PIAA also announces the state basketball playoffs will be limited to district champions only. The fields for the state swimming and wrestling championship are also cut significantly.

Dec. 10: Gov. Tom Wolf shuts down all sports except for college and professional teams starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Jan. 4 in an effort to curb increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state.

Practices are also prohibited during the shutdown.

Dec. 11: While the WVC and Lackawanna League are shut down until Jan. 4, some leagues in other parts of the state squeeze in basketball games before the 12:01 a.m. Dec. 12 deadline set by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Dec. 15: The Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association pushes the start of its winter sports seasons to Jan. 21.

Dec. 22: The PIAA Board of Directors changes its rule that teams must have 15 practices before starting their winter sports seasons.

Teams will be required to have 10 total practices in basketball and wrestling. Swimming and other sports would need a total of five practices. The difference is because some teams in those sports use non-school facilities for competition.

Those which already meet the criteria will still need four consecutive practices before a competition.

Dec. 22: The United Collegiate Hockey Conference announces men’s and women’s ice hockey will be playing in 2021. That’s good news for King’s and Wilkes, both of which had their fates rest in the hands of the UCHC.

The start date for the UCHC season is Feb. 19, 2021.