Friday Night Lights return for one Chico school delayed after opposing team positive COVID test

A Sutter High School football player tested positive for COVID-19.

With less than two days to go until gameday, PV Head Coach Mark Cooley had to tell his players that their first game -- was cancelled.

New tonight -- the return of pleasant valley varsity football was postponed due to a positive covid-19 test on the opposing team.

Action news now reporter esteban reynoso is live at pleasant valley high school.

Esteban, you spoke with players -- how are they feeling?

They're crushed that their return to the turf has been put on hold -- and because of that positive covid-19 test both fields look exactly like this one right behind me here -- empty on the night that was supposed to be their first game.

"we said this -- it could possibly happen, and sure enough it happened to us."

Under friday night lights -- empty bleachers and an empty turf a positive test result on the sutter high varsity football team the vikings to be cancelled "it was weird, it was hard for us to wrap our brains around.

We've been looking forward to this game for such a long time and it just got cancelled on us like that.

It was hard."

Players and coaches say it was even more painful because the news came less than 48 hours before kickoff "we were having a great practice as a matter of fact, and you get that sinking feeling at the bottom of your stomach.

You could just tell, they knew something was up.

Just the look on their faces was -- that's the part that kind of got me, as i said hey we're not getting a game this friday night."

"we were all pretty sad about it.

A couple of us were tearing up, and it was -- it was a rough night."

A rough night like the one coach cooley remembers when there almost wasn't a season "it looked exactly like it did when we said you weren't gonna get a football season three months ago."

"all we're asking for at this point is to just get on the field, and we've been asking for way too long for things like this to keep happening so."

Several other high schools in butte county have already had their first game -- some in their third.

We reached out to sutter high school today -- we have yet to hear back.

Live in chico, esteban reynoso action news now