Friday’s canceled football game for Bella Vista, C.K. McClatchy rescheduled, high schools say
A varsity football game between Bella Vista — a playoff contender — and C.K. McClatchy high schools at Hughes Stadium was re-scheduled Friday after threats were made against a student.
Authorities were investigating an undisclosed incident, according to Raj Rai, a spokeswoman for San Juan and the Fair Oaks campus. Al Goldberg, a spokesman for the Sacramento City Unified School District, which operates McClatchy High in Land Park, said the Friday night cancellation was related to an issue with Bella Vista’s football team.
School officials said late Friday that the game was called off after a student was threatened with violence.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and to fully investigate their concern, a mutual decision was made to cancel tonight’s game,” Rai said.
The game — a nonleague regular-season finale for both teams — will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bella Vista, according to coaches. Bella Vista will be considered the away team, to allow McClatchy players to wear their home uniforms, they said.
The JV game, which was also called off for Friday evening, will not be re-scheduled, officials said.
Bella Vista needs this game because a varsity victory would make the Broncos CIF playoff-eligible with their fourth win. Playoffs in the California Interscholastic Federation’s Sac-Joaquin Section are the goal for any team.
McClatchy entered Friday with one victory, but Friday’s game was more than trying to achieve a second win. It’s about high school experiences, said Rob Feickert, McClatchy’s athletic director.
The game was also planned as McClatchy’s Senior Night, a chance for student-athletes, band members, cheerleaders and others who are staples of game night to be recognized. Coaches said that Saturday’s make-up game in Fair Oaks will feature the pregame recognition for the McClatchy community.
Broncos coach Jim Gray said Feickert is to be commended for his “class and trying to help any way he can,” before a make-up game was announced. In Gray’s fourth season as head coach, Bella Vista has gone from halting a regional-record 48-game losing streak spanning six long seasons in 2021 to going 5-5 last season.
“We had all kinds of goals since we took over: end the streak, which we did; win some league games, which we have; win on Homecoming, which we did; win our season opener this season, which we did; and the last thing on the bucket list was to reach the playoffs,” Gray said. “Feickert has been amazing through all of this. We’ve had sellouts at home and we’ll have a big crowd Saturday if we can play that game. This game means everything to our guys, and I feel for McClatchy.”
