The crowds and noise were gone from William Regan Field on Saturday.
All that remained were a group of Delbarton seniors, who had returned to the field and stood near the midfield logo while trying to process just how their season and high school careers had ended in a matter of minutes.
“It still hasn’t set in, all that happened,” one of those seniors, Gary Lewis, said. “It’s just surreal.”
They had warmed up on the turf along with their opponent from Bergen Catholic just a short while earlier, ready for a marquee football game between two of the top five teams in New Jersey.
Bergen Catholic sprinted onto the field a few minutes before the scheduled 1 p.m. kickoff, set to begin a game billed as a state semifinal matchup.
Then the unthinkable unfolded. The game was canceled.
The coaches, Delbarton’s Brian Bowers and Bergen Catholic’s Vito Campanile, met with officials three minutes before the scheduled kickoff in front of the Bergen Catholic sideline.
A negative result for a rapid test on Delbarton’s end ultimately turned in a positive as a result of a PCR (or more thorough) test. Officials were made aware of a positive COVID-19 test, prompting teams to retreat back to their respective tents to determine how the game would proceed.
After a 15-minute delay, the news was delivered to both sides. Delbarton, meeting in the corner by their tent opposite the scoreboard, was stunned.
Helmets slammed in frustration on the rubber track surrounding the field. Tears started to come from players and coaches alike. Everyone, from the 25-man senior class to the parents in the stand, stood stunned at what happened.
“I have no words. I’m trying to process it. I just...can’t,” Bowers said. “I can’t really comprehend what just happened. I’m just really sorry for everybody right now. I’m sorry first and foremost, for my players and equally the Bergen Catholic players and coaches. This was going to be a great game. I feel terrible that it’s not happening.”
That sentiment was spread throughout the stadium as Delbarton players embraced, knowing that their season was over as Bergen Catholic packed up its belongings and headed back to its bus to return to Oradell.
“I think it’s really heartbreaking,” Bergen Catholic coach Vito Campanile said. “You put in over 1,000 hours of your life on a yearly basis and to get cheated out of this after you’ve run out of the gate? It doesn’t sit well with anybody.
“There’s so many opportunities you can get. This is probably the most extreme I’ve seen. I don’t understand how this happened.”
In a statement released later Saturday, the Delbarton athletic office said that a member of the football team tested positive for COVID-19 and, ‘in order to protect the safety of players and coaches on both the Delbarton and Bergen Catholic teams, and following guidance from Delbarton School Nurse Deirdre McAuliffe and the Morris Township Board of Health, we made the decision to cancel today’s game.’
That group of Delbarton seniors that returned later in the day described how they were shocked and how surreal the moment was. That the fact their season was over had not quite set in yet.
They were eventually joined by some of the Delbarton coaching staff as the Green Wave, an hour and a half after the scheduled kickoff, started running routes and throwing the ball to one another for one last time.
Even in the face of absolute chaos and uncertainty, Delbarton still found time to play a football game Saturday.
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Football: No. 4 Delbarton vs. No. 5 Bergen Catholic canceled by COVID just before kickoff - nj.com
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