‘I feel sorry for the kids.’ High School all-star football game in Merced canceled
It was a decision Bob Green said he wrestled with for the past week.
Ultimately, Green, who is the game director for the North/South Rotary Bob Green Football Classic, decided the right thing to do was cancel this year’s all-star game due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The game was scheduled for June 27 at Veterans Stadium on the campus of Golden Valley High in Merced. This would have been the 35th annual game.
“I feel sorry for the kids,” said Green, who announced the cancellation of the game on Twitter on Tuesday night. “I really do. It’s pretty sad for some of these kids.”
The players and coaches for the game were already picked. Buhach Colony’s Kevin Navarra was picked to coach the North, which is comprised of players from Sac-Joaquin Section schools in Merced and Stanislaus County.
Dos Palos’ Rob Calvert was selected to coach the South, which is comprised of players from Central Section schools.
According to Green, 62 high schools would have been represented in the game.
“I’m disappointed for the players who were selected,” said Navarra, who recently resigned as the Thunder coach to take over as the Buhach Colony athletic director. “I was looking forward to coaching another all-star game and working with some of the best athletes in the area.
“Some of these kids have an opportunity to go on to college and play. For some, it would have been their last football game along with mine.”
Navarra said he had already been reaching out to players on Twitter, talking about the upcoming game.
“I started picking up some conversations on Twitter with players like Desmond Thompson from Merced, who had just committed to Cal Lutheran. I talked with (Anthony) Frias, the running back from Turlock and Charles Jackson from Atwater.”
“I was just throwing things out there how I was looking forward to having all these explosive running backs running the fly,” he added.
Calvert said he was looking forward to coaching four of his Dos Palos seniors one more time. Broncos seniors Zane Merrell, Tyree Martin, Herbert Sanders and Mike Paz were all picked for the South team.
“I know it was going to be really close because the game was going to be played at the end of June,” Calvert said. “If we were able to play we would have been lucky with everything going on. I didn’t think it would happen if I was being honest.”
Green said they were thinking of inviting former players who played in the all-star game to this year’s contest to celebrate the game’s 35th anniversary.
According to Green, his committee still plans to hand out 35 scholarships worth $1,000 each this year even though the game is canceled.
“The applicants still put in the work to apply for the scholarships,” Green said.
CalHiSports editor Mark Tennis said he hasn’t heard any official word on whether the 47th Central California Lions All-Star Football Game has made a decision on whether that game will be played in June or it too will be canceled.
No Easter Tournament in Atwater
Atwater High baseball coach Jarrod Pimentel would usually be living at Memorial Ballpark this week, while the Fran Oneto Atwater-Winton Lions Easter Baseball Tournament was being played.
It’s one of the highlights each year for every Atwater baseball player.
This year would have been the 61st annual tournament, but like the rest of the spring sports, the tournament has been canceled.
It’s the first time since 1964 that there is no Easter tournament. That year, it was rained out. “I did have some players text me on Monday, asking what their duty was today and I missed the tournament,” Pimentel said.
Atwater would have been looking to win their second straight tournament championship after winning last year behind a no-hitter from Jacob Weiss in the championship game.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 6:27 PM.
