LITITZ, Pa. — Over the weekend, the Warwick Warrior football team was able to fend off New Oxford to punch their ticket to the District III 5A title game.
Behind the scenes, the administration continued to monitor COVID-19 cases in the school.
"We were hopeful that the weekend would calm things down a little bit and gives us a chance to catch our breath and see where we were at," recalled Warwick Athletic Director Ryan Landis. "Unfortunately the weekend didn't go well for us. Yesterday we were doing contract tracing for situations and the first thing this morning we were right back at it. It just became apparent that this wasn't going away. So our hand was forced in that regard."
And with that, one of the District III teams that no opponent could stop, saw their season come to a close at the hands of COVID-19, as the Warriors would forfeit the district championship game against Governor Mifflin.
"The other thing is, it's not just about our safety, you also have to add the opponent's safety. You don't want to put them in harm's way," added Landis.
Sadly, one of the greatest Warrior football teams to ever strap on the pads for Warwick becomes the latest to see their year suddenly cut short. A feeling some of their peers know all too well.
"We had some really talented spring sports and spring teams. We had the defending state champions in girls track and our softball team was looking to make a third trip to states and they didn't get to have a single game or any part of their season. So this situation, this COVID has just taken an awful lot away from a lot of people," said Landis.
While it's not the ending they wanted, in the long run, it's the journey that most will remember about this Warrior team and this talented senior class.
"It's just such a special group. It's been quite a run. We're in a like a four or five year window that has just been high quality, with really talented individuals and I've just enjoyed watching them," said Landis. "This year was just the tip of that, with a lot of special individuals and collectively as a group."