La Salle-Peru to take forfeit victory in Week 4

For the second season in a row, the La Salle-Peru vs. Sandwich football game was canceled because of COVID-19 protocols.

L-P announced Tuesday morning it would take a forfeit victory because the Indians are unable to play Friday.

The game was scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Howard Fellows Stadium.

“It caught me off guard a little bit because you’re in that mode of playing football every Friday night,” L-P coach Jose Medina said.

But at the same time, with other games around the state having been canceled the first three weeks, including Sandwich’s game against Plano, Medina knew it was a possibility this season.

Medina said after discussions with the coaching staff, L-P officials decided not to pursue a replacement opponent and instead the Cavs (3-1) will focus on Week 5 opponent Sycamore (2-1).

“There were options, but we don’t want to take the risk of getting somebody hurt by picking up another team, or with COVID having to play somebody out of the norm,” Medina said. “Talking with the coaches, we discussed the positives and negatives. We felt there were more positives if we decided to take this week off and not look for another opponent.

“We’re going to take this week as a bye week. We’ll practice today, tomorrow, Thursday and throw in an extra shorter practice Friday. It benefits us because we get an extra week to prepare for Sycamore, who is one of the top teams in our conference.”

Medina said he’ll use the Friday off to get a look at the Spartans in person when they play at Ottawa.

“It’s close to home, so a couple coaches are going to go and watch it,” Medina said. “I think maybe some players plan on going as well. We have that opportunity, so why not take advantage of it?”

L-P was scheduled to open the spring season against Sandwich, but that game also was canceled after L-P went on a COVID-19 pause and caused the Cavs not to meet the minimum number of practices required before the season opener.

The Li’l Kickers event will still be held at Howard Fellows Stadium on Friday. Gates will open to spectators at 5 p.m. with performances beginning around 5:30 p.m.

After the Li’l Kickers, the Cavalettes will perform.