2020 high school football season shifted to spring

Shortly after New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham decreed Thursday that high school football will not be permitted this fall, the NM Activities Association (NMAA) said that football season would be moved to the spring. "Although the NMAA and its member schools were hopeful that all interscholastic sports could resume as originally scheduled this August, the continued coronavirus pandemic and resulting public health concerns have forced the Association to consider adjustments for the 2020-21 school year." The NMAA said a tentative plan "to ensure all sports seasons can be played this academic year" will be available on or about July 15. Right now, key questions concerning when football season would begin and how many games would be played are left unanswered. Grisham later posted this statement on Twitter: "The state is working with the NMAA and I’m optimistic that we can get to a place where it’s safe to have these student athletes return to the field this year. First things first: We’ve got to contain this virus and make sure our schools can safely reopen this fall." Reaction to the Governor’s decree from players and coaches was swift. "Love our kids and our coaches. We will control what we can control and I hope somebody will join the fight for football in the spring or whenever we can get these young men on the field," Clovis head coach Cal Fullerton told Prep Redzone New Mexico. "They’ve worked to hard to have something taken away." Several prominent players, including our No. 1 2021 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="26153" first="Tyler" last="Kiehne"], reacted to the news on social media. "No football this fall<img class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f494.png" alt="💔" /> somebody pray for me," Kiehne posted on Twitter. Perhaps the most heartfelt words came from Atrisco Heritage lineman [player_tooltip player_id="26179" first="Chris" last="Rios"]: "Football is more than just a sport. It’s a brotherhood. The reason why me and a lot of my friends stayed out of trouble. Why we ’stayed in school’. . .This hurts more than words. You dream of playing." Defending Class 6A champion Cleveland head coach Heath Ridenour posted this on Twitter: "Positivity is the only way to attack this! We will play in the spring. The NMAA will make it so EVERY kid has the opportunity to compete in their given sport or sports. It is our job to support those efforts. Not ideal, but every kid deserves a chance." https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1281364642384637952 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;