Virus devastating high school basketball schedule in Sonoma County

Tim Dalton’s already busy days have only gotten more hectic over the last week.

As the head of the Golden Gate Officials Bureau, Dalton is responsible for assigning high school basketball referees in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties. That task, as COVID-19 cases surge in the North Bay, has becoming increasingly challenging this week.

On Tuesday, Dalton said that seven of the nine games scheduled for Monday across those three counties were not played, and that the impact was already spreading further into the days ahead. As of midday Tuesday, 16 of the 46 games Dalton had on his calendar for that day had been canceled or postponed, and from Thursday to Saturday 16 others had already been called off.

Last week, Dalton had 26 total games in his territory canceled, seven of which were in Sonoma.

Coaches worry that figure will only grow in coming days and weeks as students return to school after winter break.

“I think it’s going to be tough for the next couple weeks,” Santa Rosa High boys basketball coach Madison Lott said.

The entirety of Lott’s team has been vaccinated, he said, but the Panthers still have three players away from the team in health and safety protocols. Per guidance from Santa Rosa City Schools, which bases its guidelines on recommendations from the county, athletes who play high-risk indoor sports like basketball or wrestling must undergo weekly testing.

As an extra layer of precaution, Lott has his team test more frequently than what’s required.

He expected to get results from this week’s tests late Tuesday, then figure out the rest of the Panthers’ schedule for what was supposed to be the first week of league play. Their North Bay League-Oak opener against Windsor set for Tuesday had already been called off and rescheduled for later in the month due to COVID issues within the Jaguars’ program.

The Panthers are also fresh off a runner-up showing at last week’s Sonoma County Classic tournament at Piner, where a number of teams, including several that the Panthers faced, experienced positive cases.

“I just don’t know how this week’s set of tests aren’t going to come back with some positives just based on some of the contact,” Lott said.

While some teams have been able to avoid or play through interruptions, others have been halted entirely, like the Montgomery girls basketball team. The Vikings last took the court for a game back on Dec. 11 in a tournament at Windsor and haven’t suited up since for “COVID-related reasons,” head coach Darryl LaBlue said.

LaBlue, who is vaccinated, said he caught the virus over winter break but has since recovered and is returning to the team this week.

“I think in the next couple of weeks, I told my team we just have to be flexible,” he said. “There are going to be cancellations and games are going to need to be rescheduled.”

That’s already happened to the Vikings this week. They were originally scheduled to play four games over six days, but their game against Piner on Monday was called off. As of Tuesday, they were still set to play their two NBL-Oak games as well as a one-game showcase on Saturday.

Asked about the possibility of a leaguewide pause of games amid the surge of positive cases, NBL Commissioner Jan Smith Billing said on Monday that athletic directors would discuss how best to proceed at a league meeting on Wednesday of next week. One possibility that could be raised is the cancellation of the NBL postseason tournament to give teams an extra week to make up games.

“Right now, I’m just telling coaches to make up games in a manner that is mutually agreeable to both affected teams, as is outlined in the (league) constitution,” Smith-Billing said via email. “We can’t rely on one week to make up an entire round of play. If it becomes necessary to cancel the tournament, then we will do so to complete as many league contests as possible.”

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.