The year 2020 started out like most of the previous 47 years I have been covering high school sports in Jackson County.

Last January, the girls basketball teams were in the home stretches of their seasons, the boys teams were coming off winter breaks, the Seymour gymnasts were just getting started, the Owls’ wrestling and swim teams were looking forward to the Hoosier Hills Conference meets and sectionals and Trinity Lutheran swimmers were tapering for the sectional.

The Trinity girls won another sectional, while the Brownstown Central girls won sectional and regional titles.

At the beginning of March, the Brownstown Central and Crothersville boys celebrated sectional titles and were preparing for regional tournaments when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

The pandemic brought all high school, college and professional sports to a sudden stop, and athletics on all three levels haven’t been the same since.

As it turned out, there were no more high school sports in Indiana until the high school girls golf teams teed it up at the end of July and other fall sports teams got back on the practice fields in August.

The virus attacked one or more athletic teams at all five Jackson County high schools during the fall, causing practices and matches to be suspended and not allowing the teams to play all of their scheduled volleyball matches.

Volleyball matches were held with limited, or in some instances, no fans.

The Seymour and Brownstown football teams had limited amounts of fans at their games.

Brownstown and Trinity again brought home volleyball sectional trophies, Trinity Lutheran captured a girls soccer sectional title and the Seymour boys cross-country team won the sectional.

The virus has continued to take its toll on winter sports teams with all of the basketball teams and Seymour’s wrestling, swimming and gymnastics teams having meets called off.

The Seymour girls and Medora and Crothersville boys finished 2020 in quarantine and didn’t have any basketball games between mid-December and Jan. 5.

The Crothersville girls are under quarantine and had to call off all three games they had scheduled last week.

Crothersville has had cheerleaders at boys home games, and Trinity began allowing cheerleaders at its home games last week.

Veteran Seymour official Tim Goodpaster said, “I have had zero bands. Three times I had cheerleaders — at Providence, the Silver Creek holiday tournament and Switzerland County.”

He said at Providence during a timeout, he put his mask on. 

"Play resumed, I forgot to take it off," he said. "A violation happened, and I tried desperately to force my whistle through the exterior of my mask to blow it. I ripped my mask off and blew a late whistle. Both coaches laughed. Coaches have been much more patient and less combative this year. The atmosphere at the games is quiet and laid back.”

Officials are at risk from the virus as much as players.

“I have had four officials that I was scheduled to work with test positive within 48 to 72 hours of game time and had to pray, scramble and secure their replacements for my crews," Goodpaster said. “Many officials are driving separately to games instead of together to minimize close contact in the vehicles. I have had five varsity contests postponed or canceled. One of them canceled just six hours before tipoff. Assigners and ADs are scrambling to reschedule statewide.”

There are three new athletic directors in the county this winter: Jacob Dunn at Crothersville, Ryan Cremeans at Trinity Lutheran and Kara Hunt at Medora.

“A lot of athletic directors have helped me and have been great to work with," Hunt said of her debut during this unusual school year.

Goodpaster, who officiates soccer, basketball and baseball, said the officials have received guidance from the IHSAA.

“We are encouraged to wear a black mask during warm-ups, between quarters and any time we have to make direct close contact with the scorers’ bench," he said. “Columbus North is the only school that took our temperatures. Many of the schools use two games balls to alternate sanitizing them."

“I have confined myself to the pregame time periods of isolating myself in the officials’ dressing room. I wash and sanitize my hands several times during the pregame, halftime and postgame periods.”

The pregame meetings with the coaches and captains are different this season. The officials meet with the coaches first, then go out to the middle of the court and meet with one captain from each team.

Goodpaster expects the IHSAA will have trouble finding enough officials for the tournament this season.

“The IHSAA will have a difficult time selecting officials for the sectional because of all the cancellations and officials who have tested positive, losing as many as six to 12 games because of quarantine restrictions," he said. "Plus, many officials have dropped out of high school officiating for this potentially deadly season.”