COVID forfeit gives Stratford girls a first-round GHSA state basketball win

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

           A day after a team just down the road found out it was moving on to the second round of the GHSA state basketball tournament, another team is doing the same.

          Stratford’s girls got word Tuesday that Heritage-Newnan had to forfeit because of COVID-19, a day after the boys team had to do the same and give up the game against FPD.

          So it was fairly inevitable. This was Heritage’s first trip to the GHSA tournament.

Stratford’s boys game on Wednesday at home has been moved up to 6:30 p.m. The Stratford teams were going to play a doubleheader.

          Stratford finished second in the Region 1-A Private tournament, and now already knows who’s up next. The Eagles will travel to Savannah Country Day, the Region 3 champ that had a first-round bye.

          As of 1:30 p.m., the GHSA’s collection of brackets on its website lists no other such forfeits.

          Gavin Chapman is sitting home, stressing about not being near his basketball team as it prepares for the first round of the boys playoffs.

          The stress level – for the game, anyway – for the FPD boys head coach sidelined with COVID-19 decreased a little bit Monday morning with word that the Vikings will move on because of a COVID-related forfeit by Heritage-Newnan.

          The GHSA’s brackets on its website had “COVID-19 Forfeit) in between the two teams in the Class A Private bracket, and put FPD into the next round, against either Whitfield Academy or Savannah Christian on Saturday.

          Heritage had just come off a two-week COVID break earlier this month, according to the Newnan Times-Herald. This was the program’s first trip to the GHSA tournament.