The start of the high school football season witnessed firsthand in Chronicle Country the continual problem of covid-19 and its negative effect on athletics.

A week which started with Chapin and Airport scheduling each other after their previous 2 Week 0 opponents cancelled due to quarantine ended with a cancellation of their “Battle of the Eagles” matchup 30 minutes before kickoff.

An apparent rapid test done on an Airport player was positive. This occurred a day after fellow Lexington County School District 2 school Brookland-Cayce entered quarantine following a positive test which postponed the matchup with defending Class 4A champion AC Flora.

The end result was the cancellation of this Friday’s scheduled rivalry matchup between the Bearcats and Eagles. Meanwhile, Chapin will look to finally open the season at home against longtime rival Mid-Carolina in the “Battle of the Bell”.

On Monday, Lexington announced the cancellation of its matchup at South Aiken following a positive test. The same day saw Batesburg-Leesville cancel its road game at Gilbert after positive test among players and a coach.

While the Indians searched for a new opponent at presstime, they also announced the Sept. 3 game with county rival Lexington would be moved back a day at a time to be determined.

The Indians/Wildcats matchup was scheduled to be the Sonic Friday Night Rivals Games of the Week on WACH 57.

Other schools affected by covid-19 include Irmo and Swansea. Continued issues forced the Tigers to cancel Friday’s home game against Dreher. Their next game is scheduled for Sept. 3 at Bateburg-Leesville.

Irmo cancelled its 1st 2 games against fellow Lexington/Richland District 5 schools Chapin and Dutch Fork and will open play Sept. 3 at home against South Florence.

The scheduling change opened the way for Dutch Fork to travel to “The Reservation” for a Friday matchup with 7th ranked Gaffney. This is just the 2nd meeting between the 2 state powers, the 1st took place in the 2012 Class 4A Division I final won by the Indians.

Since then, Dutch Fork has won 6 state titles, posted an overall record of 98- 11-1 and a 32- 2 post-season record.

The Silver Foxes head to Gaffney with the following streaks:

•51 consecutive games without a loss

•50 straight wins against in-state teams

•28 consecutive road wins