By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
LYFORD — The La Feria football team has been waiting patiently for the District 16-4A Division I schedule to be finalized, and the wait is nearly over.
The district, which features Grulla, Hidalgo, Kingsville King and Zapata along with the Lions, has been taking a cautious approach to planning the season since most member schools have county orders keeping athletics on hold. Kingsville King is the only team not restricted by its county, and it began strength and conditioning Tuesday.
The district met Wednesday and agreed to ask their respective school boards for permission to begin practicing Sept. 21. They’ll meet again Sept. 15 to vote on the official plan for the 2020 football season.
La Feria and Hidalgo have Cameron and Hidalgo County orders, respectively, keeping them sidelined until Sept. 28, the same date Rio Grande City CISD is targeting for a return to on-campus practice. Zapata County ISD is only offering at-home learning, which means no on-campus extracurricular activities, through Oct. 16.
“By next Tuesday, we will finalize the football schedule,” La Feria football coach and athletic director Oscar Salinas said. “Everybody by that time will have gone to their boards for permission and will be given a go or no-go. We’re scheduled to meet again as superintendents and athletic directors, and we’ll vote on it and have a decision either way.”
La Feria’s football district is different than the group in which its other fall sports compete, but Salinas said the Lions’ request for a Sept. 21 start date will be for all fall athletic programs.
The district certification deadline for Class 1A through 4A football is Nov. 7. With an uneven number of teams in 16-4A DI, Salinas said splitting into zones isn’t a valid option and the extra week the schools are requesting will help ensure a full district season. Salinas said coaches have a variety of schedules depending on which of the options being discussed is elected.
“There’s three options,” Salinas said. “Option A, which is the option we all like, is we start our first district games (Oct. 9), and go through the original district schedule the way it was set up and play four games in five weeks. If that’s not possible, then Oct. 15 is the next date. And the third option we have is we only play a three-team district schedule.”
Salinas said he’d like to get a scrimmage or at least one non-district contest scheduled for his team, but the primary focus for the 16-4A DI coaches is getting the district season played in full, which they’re hopeful will happen.
“We’re all optimistic that we’ll get some kind of season in, at least our district season,” Salinas said. “The biggest thing for us is those district games. We’re trying to get the season going for our kids. That’s what we’re all fighting for.”