How badly does junior quarterback Logan Carroll want to help his Meigs County teammates stay alive in the TSSAA Class 2A state playoffs by doing all he can to avoid the coronavirus?
"I moved in with my uncle at the start of the playoffs," Carroll said. "My mom's a nurse so she's around (COVID-19). If you get this there's no way you'll play. Your teammates might not get to play, either. You don't want to be the one who causes your team to forfeit."
How much does McCallie junior linebacker Aaron Crowder want to be on Tennessee Tech's football field for next Thursday's TSSAA Division II-AAA title game against Memphis University School as the Blue Tornado goes for its second straight championship and third overall?
"I'm staying in my bubble, wearing a mask, being careful who I hang out with," said Crowder, who ran a Brentwood Academy fumble back for a touchdown in last Friday's 28-18 semifinal road win. "I pretty much stay to myself in my room when I'm home. I don't go anywhere."
Welcome to the COVID-19 edition of the TSSAA playoffs. May it not have a second act next season.
"We've been concerned about it from day one," said Meigs County coach Jason Fitzgerald. "We try to keep them distanced. Work out in small groups. Wear masks. We've harped on it so much for so long. Still, I wake up every morning worried that something has happened, that someone on the team has gotten it."
According to the experts, this is the week to worry most of all. It's Thanksgiving. Schools are out. Large gatherings, often consisting mostly of out-of-town relatives, are in. What could possibly go wrong when even a single positive test can cancel a whole team's season?
"There's no definitive answer," said McCallie coach Ralph Potter when asked what scenarios could force a team to forfeit a playoff game before it's played due to a COVID-19 positive test. "There are lots of variables. Contact tracing. How many were exposed. The Health Department looks at a lot of things. There's nothing I can do about it so I don't worry about it."
Not that he doesn't warn players and parents of the risks.
"Our parents and kids are really aware of the risks. They've all used their best judgement."
Nor do these precautions only impact the athletes and coaches.
"My girlfriend Madison just wishes all this would end," said Carroll. "But she's also been really understanding."
At least one University of Wisconsin study strongly supports Potter's summertime assessment that if high school football had been canceled, "What these young people lose, they will never get back, and the longer this goes on, the more catastrophic the loss becomes We have to begin to think of what the world looks like if COVID-19 never goes away. Let the young people be raised and formed. The risk to them is minimal. Protect the most vulnerable. Please let them go to school. Let them play."
To that end, the Wisconsin study released in late October found that among those teenagers who played high school sports and those who didn't, the rate of positive tests were virtually the same.
Beyond that, none of the cases among the athletes resulted in hospitalization or death. And of the 209 athletes who knew where they contracted the virus among the 30,000 athletes who were studied, only one case was attributed to participation in sports.
Still, the reasons not to play can almost all be traced back to Potter's four-word plea: "Protect the most vulnerable."
So in our little corner of the state alone, Howard's playoff run was ended before it began. Chattanooga Christian's quarterfinal-round game was called off. McMinn County's second-round game was halted after the Cherokees had already traveled to Dobyns-Bennett and were about to kick off. Three days later the TSSAA ruled McMinn would have to forfeit.
"We usually go to one gathering of 35 or so family members and another of 25 or so family members," said Fitzgerald. "Not this year. It will be with my mom and dad, kids and grandkids only."
Added Potter, "We have an open back deck. We'll be eating outside. It will just be my family, my sister's family and my mom."
Crowder and Carroll described similar plans.
That doesn't mean they won't enjoy themselves.
Potter's looking forward to his mom's turkey and dressing, which he says "there's nothing better."
Fitzgerald is also anticipating "turkey with a whole lot of cornbread stuffing and chocolate pie."
For Carroll it's the allure of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and green beans, plus "Oreo dirt cake for dessert."
Finally, there's Crowder, who can't wait to tear into "Granny's candied yams and my mom's macaroni and cheese. She makes a mean macaroni and cheese."
But come Friday night at Trousdale County, it's back to business for Meigs, as it will be for McCallie next Thursday against MUS. Assuming, of course, the coronavirus allows it.
"We talk about it all the time," said Carroll. "We say, 'Let's get this done, then we can go back to everyday life.'"
Oh, but how we'd all give thanks for that.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com
Mark Wiedmer