Some high school athletes say scholarships could be out of reach without fall season

With some school districts postponing sports until 2021, some athletes believe college scholarships may now be out of reach.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s office and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association are on opposite sides of the fence, leaving a lot of uncertainty for the fall sports season in high school sports.

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Nick Maher, a senior at North Catholic, said he’s still trying to keep the dream of playing college football alive by continuing to train this summer.

“It’s definitely frustrating -- putting in all the work over the last four years to have a senior season and not knowing if we are going to have it,” Maher said.

He and many other seniors across the WPIAL have yet to sign with a college for 2021 and were counting on this fall sports season to get noticed. But as of last week, the season was put on hold for at least two weeks.

Wolf recommended that sports not take place until at least Jan. 2021 because of the risk of contracting the coronavirus. On Tuesday, PIAA officials sent a letter to Wolf’s office Tuesday requesting a meeting to discuss the options for fall sports.

Meanwhile, Carson Laconi was also hit hard after learning there may not be fall football. He’s only a junior at North Catholic and was hopeful to make a new tape to showcase himself to college coaches.

“This is pretty much our life. I love football and I feel like we should be given the opportunity to play,” Laconi said. “I think everybody knows the risks if we do have a season. And I think most of the players and coaches are OK with that and are willing to risk that to have our season.”

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