Cabrillo pulls out of Friday's football game at Dos Pueblos citing player safety

Cabrillo High athletic director Gary West said March 17 that Cabrillo would not play at Dos Pueblos in a football game March 19, citing player safety concerns.

West noted that the decision is not based on COVID-19 protocols, saying the Cabrillo coaching staff felt the players needed an extra week of preparation.

"It's about student-athlete safety, we need at least another week to get in better football shape and get better at the game of football," West said.

West said Cabrillo gave Dos Pueblos the option of having a controlled scrimmage Friday or finding another opponent and Dos Pueblos opted to find another opponent.

Dos Pueblos lost to Fillmore 14-13 on Friday.

Cabrillo football: Pandemic deepens challenges Conquistadores already face

High School

Cabrillo football: Pandemic deepens challenges Conquistadores already face

Joe Bailey jbailey@santamariatimes.com

"That's where the coaching staff and myself were on this, we felt if we could have one more week it'd be better for the kids," West said. "We want to make sure kids are in the best shape we can get them in before we can get them on the field. We're worried about injuries."

West said the Conqs do intend on playing their final four games, with contests against San Marcos, Santa Barbara, Lompoc and Santa Ynez left.

"We hope to play the remaining four games," West said.

Cabrillo was slated to host San Marcos on Friday, but the Royals had to pull out of last week's game against Santa Barbara due to COVID-19 cases within the Royals' program, leaving the status of that game up in the air at press time Monday.

In Santa Maria, Pioneer Valley and Righetti had to pull out of their games due to positive cases in their programs. Those cancellations could cause other delays as teams that are placed in quarantine are ordered to shut down team activities for 10 days.