A full week ago, Sept. 3, the MHSAA — after an executive order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — decided to reinstate the 2020 high school football season. The decision was met with a gamut of reactions, but aside from the public, it left athletic directors all over the state scrambling to try to create workable plans, procedures and schedules after shifting to a spring date due to the MHSAA’s previous decision on the matter.

“Well, it was definitely a surprise based on what we heard earlier,” Escanaba AD Tony Perino said. “Normally, we’re given a little bit of a heads up on what’s coming down the chute. We weren’t given that this time. So, it was kind of a shock from the standpoint of: ‘Oh, we’re going to start now.’ I think a lot of (athletic directors) were shocked.

“With that said, it was definitely a surprise, but obviously, it was a good thing. From a scheduling standpoint though, not too much.”

Scheduling is the most obvious problem that ADs faced despite the MHSAA suggestion just to pick up at week four of the original schedule.

Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Pictured is Escanaba Athletic Director Tony Perino in 2019.

“When the MHSAA said we were going to pick up at week four, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy,” Gladstone AD Dave Lindbeck said. “We were really communicating out to families that we’re going to flip the switch and get things running. We got the notification on Thursday. With the (Great Northern Conference), we have some limitations. All of us had some Wisconsin or downstate (teams on the schedule), so it was just something we had to work through.

“We were talking Thursday (Sept. 3) night late, and it was between Marquette, Esky, Menominee, Kingsford and us. We were trying to get that All-U.P. scheduling going. That was all of Friday as well, just us working together. It’s a really solid conference. We all work together extremely well, and we all look out for each other.”

Even if schools wanted to just pick up from their original schedule, whether to play and how to play was left up to each school individually, and that left some holes.

“The problem is the Big North and Wisconsin schools that we had on our schedules — and there’s four or five of us (schools) that have them — (couldn’t participate because of travel restrictions), so we had holes to fill,” Perino said. “Early on, one of the WestPAC football coaches put together a composite schedule which included not only the GNC teams but also the WestPAC. We were hoping that would be followed.

“I’m very disappointed they could not find us a couple opponents. At the end of the day, with the football playoffs like they are and everyone making it, there was no reason why we couldn’t have come to a beneficial decision for our kids and their kids. I feel for the kids really, because now we’re scrambling to find a school six hours away to play.”

Despite public support and a tentative go-ahead, there were still some considerations to make before going forward with a Fall football season.

“At the end of the day, we’re worried about school before athletics,” Perino said. “This is a new situation for every AD. We’re always worried about concussions and ACL’s and ankles and anything else, but never have we been put in a perplexing situation (like this) with something that could affect them long term. Everyone’s got their opinions about it, and it’s easy for any single person to say anything if you don’t have any skin in the game — if you don’t have a kid that could potentially have myocarditis or lung issues for the rest of their life — you know. That, to me, is scary, and it’s a situation I don’t want to put any of our kids in.

“I’m happy for the kids, but at the same time, we need to go about it (intelligently). Coaches are doing a great job, and my staff is doing a great job top to bottom to adjust. Kudos to them.”

Even with extra safety measures already in practice because of students returning to physical learning, there was still some shuffling around needed to make sure facilities were safe to use.

“We had the safety procedures in place, but we had to re-allocate — here in Gladstone — where our crews are out,” Lindbeck said. “We have our buildings to maintain and the cleaning regiments on those, so we had to look at shifting staff. For the most part, we’re sitting pretty good so far on our schedule.”

Ultimately though, it comes down to student-athletes and their safety.

“After the whole logistics behind the scenes, it was like: ‘Alright, let’s go.’ So, we’re keeping the kids at the forefront of this,” Lindbeck said. “It’s exciting, but at the same time, it’s a lot of work to reinvent (everything). We’re doing it, though. We’ve got all hands on deck. We’ve got a great conference, great coaches and a great community.”

Though it’s been a bit of a headache, both ADs can agree that the result will be worth it.

“It’s been a plethora of emotions, to say the least — good and bad, but at the end of the day you see those kids and they come in and talk to you and wish for this and that,” Perino said. “That’s what you do it for. You just have to deal with it and go forward because it’s all about our student-athletes in the end.”

Lindbeck felt the excitement from the community and athletes and could only agree.

“Everyone’s excited,” he said. “I mean, when I got there Friday for some equipment handouts — the interaction between the coaches and players has just been amazing. I got to interact with them as well, and the excitement is there. I think they experienced a sense of loss when the season got moved, and now, what I’ve felt from their enthusiasm, is that this is an opportunity to live each day as a blessing. Like: ‘We’ve got an opportunity to play together. We’ve got an opportunity to be a team again, to be a football family again.’ You can just see that dynamic, the gratefulness and enthusiasm. The appreciation of this opportunity is huge for them.

“It’s going to be an exciting but different Fall, but it’s going to be great for our kids. We want to create opportunities for our kids and their families, and that’s what’s most important here — our communities and kids. It’s not a political piece. It’s what we need to do to maintain our season. It’s tough. It’s tough on parents and kids, but we want our seasons to extend. We want to make sure that people are safely able to follow the rules to maintain our seasons.”

Perino echoed similar sentiments.

“At the end of the day people need to be patient and understand what we all do is for our young women and men — our student-athletes,” he said. “Whatever we need to adhere to, it is a small price to pay, a minor adjustment, for the betterment of our student-athletes and their privilege to play educational athletics. They get the chance to make those memories, and we need to protect them and their health and well-being as long as we can. Athletics is their medicine — mentally and physically.”

Due to attendance limits, both Escanaba and Gladstone plan to livestream football games through the NFHS network. Contact school officials for more information.