Since the beginning of March, the coronavirus pandemic robbed the world of watching its beloved sports. Professional or not, everything was brought to a halt. The thought of sports resuming back to normal seemed improbable by many, but so desperately needed by all.  

“The coronavirus issue was very troublesome for the coaching staff,” Varsity Coach Shane Hallmark said. “We had to alter the way we communicated with our players, and we had to become Zoom savvy. Keeping up with our kids was more challenging than ever. We had to take significant steps to keep our players safe while also following the new UIL and the district’s protocols. Of course, we stay masked and stagger our dressing times to limit the number of athletes in the locker room. It’s been very challenging.” 

Now that school is back in session with social distancing measures and masks, play has resumed. The Bearkats won their first two games, defeating Cy-Creek 48-35 and Seven Lakes 42-28.

“When you’re on the field, you tend to forget about COVID,” team captain Kenzo Viteri said. “Everyone is just so happy to be back playing the sport they love. The circumstances with COVID are very frustrating and annoying at times. We do our best to comply with all the rules.”

The Bearkats lost their first game against the Klein Cain Hurricanes by a score of 37-20. Klein was only able to score one touchdown in the second and third quarters. A subsequent by-week gave the Bearkats an extra week to prepare for Tomball Memorial, a team averaging 62 points per game. The Bearkats were able to hold the Wildcat offense to only 29 points but suffered their second loss of the season, 14-29.  

This week, the Bearkats look to take on Klein Forest on Friday night. The game will be held at Klein Memorial Field at 7 pm.