The Pahokee Blue Devils were set to face the Royal Palm Beach Wildcats in a preseason game on Aug. 20. But following a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Wildcat program, Royal Palm Beach has pulled out of the game.

“As a precautionary measure for both teams and their families, Wildcat football will not play Pahokee this Friday,” Royal Palm Beach announced on their Twitter. “Please pray for and support all the players and families for both schools.”

The Blue Devils were able to find a new opponent for the game and will host  Centennial Eagles out of Port St Lucie. Tickets for the game are only avalible to purchase online here. Refunds for those who purchased tickets to the Wildcats game will be deposited in 7-10 days.

COVID-19 will continue to have an impact on the high school football season in 2021. Last year Pahokee and Glades Central opted out of the FHSAA schedule and competed in a tri-county football playoff with schools from Palm Beach, Broward,and Miami-Dade.

Teams from around Lake Okeechobee who did play in the FHSAA system last year felt the impacts of the virus in their season. Moore Haven Terriers saw half of their season lost from a positive COVID-19 case in their program, while Glades Day Gators missed out on much of their training camp. The LaBelle Cowboys started strong in 2020 with a 5-2 record, only to miss out on the playoffs due to a COVID-19 case on their junior varsity team.