Legacy Christian Academy’s football postseason ended Tuesday before it even started.
Because of coronavirus complications at Legacy, the Warriors were forced to forfeit their TAPPS Division IV first-round playoff game scheduled for Friday against Brazos Christian. Head coach Mitchell Stephens said no one on Legacy’s team had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, but contact tracing forced multiple players into quarantine.
With Legacy’s already small roster, the numbers just didn’t add up to potentially play a game Friday, Stephens said.
“In all fairness to everybody, we had to make a call pretty soon,” Stephens said of the forfeit. “It’s tough, but we had to do what was in the best interest to keep our kids safe.
“We feel fortunate for the games that we did play. I’ve told the kids all year long that they’re going to be better men because of the adversity they’ve faced this season.”
The forfeit ends an “chaotic” first season for Stephens at Legacy. He was hired in May after serving as the offensive coordinator at Class 3A Elkhart High School.
Once arriving at Legacy, Stephens faced a pandemic while taking over a program that had short numbers to begin with. A lack of size at the line of scrimmage and players manning unfamiliar positions hurt the Warriors during what ended up being a 2-4 season overall.
“At one point, my quarterback Grant Davis was recruiting kids to play so we could have a team,” Stephens said. “It’s been a struggle at times, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
There were some highlights along the way for Legacy. The Warriors won their season-opener against Acadiana Christian, which was coming off a National Homeschool Football Association championship in 2019. Legacy ended the season with a 56-12 home win over First Baptist Christian.
Six Warriors earned all-district honors, five of them doing so on both sides of the ball.
“I think it says a lot about that guys we did have,” Stephens said. “I was fortunate to coach some great kids this year. It wasn’t easy, but they stuck around and gave us everything they had.”
Legacy is hardly the only football team for forfeit a playoff game as of late. In UIL action, 12 teams across Texas conceded bi-district games last week because of coronavirus-related problems.
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