It was announced earlier this week that the Rural Manitoba Football League has suspended its fall season due to the novel coronavirus. This means the Dauphin Clippers won't be hitting the field as usual early next month.
"We were sort of expecting this, especially with the "orange" level that Prairie Mountain Health is currently under," said Cam Bennet. "I know league officials were working hard for about a month now but it's just not possible right now."
Despite a tough last year, Dauphin was able to rally off three straight league championships from 2015-2017. There was a lot of optimism heading into this season with a solid core group of players that were set to return.
"We were quite excited about this year. I know we lost a good crop of players from last year, but they did a great job in helping out the young guys that were ready to step up this year," added Bennet. "Thomas Scott got a ton of reps last year at quarterback and he was primed for a big season. He's just one of the many young players that were ready to make big things happen."
Although possibly missing a full season affects all grades 9, 10, and 11 athletes, the biggest impact will be on all grade 12 athletes. The RMFL has said they hope to run a spring season so that grade 12 athletes get one more season, but that will completely depend on where we are when it comes to the virus.
Bennet knows grade 12 players are going through a tough time right now, but he wants everyone to stay positive in hopes a spring season can run.
"I would say it's certainly a punch to the gut for those grade 12 athletes, but I think most of them expected this as well," ended Bennet. "We're just really hopeful that a spring season can run, but it's certainly not a good time right now for many."
