After a blowout 49-0 win over Orangeburg-Wilkinson in the season opener, the White Knoll Timberwolves will have to wait another week before they can try to improve their record to 2-0.

White Knoll’s second opponent, Spring Valley, has canceled their scheduled contest with the Timberwolves on Aug. 25 after they announced the team is dealing with COVID-19 and other illnesses that lead them unable to field a team. 

A post on X (formerly known as Twitter) from the Spring Valley athletics page states:

 “Tonight’s football game vs. White Knoll has been canceled. The football team has had a surge in COVID cases and other illnesses. For the safety of all involved, and due to a lack of available players, the decision was made to cancel last night’s JV as well as tonight’s varsity game.” 

According to White Knoll’s athletics website, the game will not be rescheduled, Spring Valley is in the process of refunding those who purchased digital tickets to the game. 

"I absolutely hate it for our kids, I hate it for our children, I hate it for our families," White Knoll head coach Nick Pelham said. "I don't think most people understand how hard these kids work and parents have to sacrifice. I was just talking to a parent the other day and they said they've known for four years that they're not going to take a summer vacation.  It's important for their son to be there at all 20 of our summer practices. So it's not just the kids, it's the parents who are into this program."

Pelham expressed frustration with the caneclled game because it gave his team fewer chances to put out god tape for colleges as well as take away a game from seniors who won't be going on to play at the next level.

"I really think it's a shame  that it was the morning of the game without any warning, without any communication. It still doesn't sit well with me," Pelham added. "I understand they had to do that, but on the other hand,  kids put a lot into this and  in football, you get very few opportunities to play."

Pelham described his team as being "crushed" by the news.

His team will now turn its attention to next week, when it is set to face Colleton County on the road.

COVID hospitalizations sharply increased recently in the counties of Lexington (where White Knoll is located) and Richland (where Spring Valley is located), according to the latest data available from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

In both counties, there were 38 new patients with confirmed COVID admitted to local hospitals in the week leading up to Aug. 12, a 65.2% increase from the previous week.

That increase is sharper than the nationwide increase during the same stretch, which was 21%, as 12,613 new confirmed COVID patients were admitted to hospitals throughout the U.S.

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.