2020-2021 Lennard Varsity Basketball Team
Front row, left to right, Miguel Delgado, Cameron Dudley, Anthony Durden and Tremayne Williams; middle row, Kamari Choyce, Brandon Flannery, Jonah Irvin, Noah Irvin and Jonathan Olodude; back row, Zaire Allen, Matthew Peyton, Jeremyah Gentle, Noah Gibson, Andrade Berry-Carr, Jonathan Brown and Axel Nunez.
Horns’ hoops personnel quarantined
Covid puts Lennard boys,girls basketball on pause
By STEVE JACKSON
The coronavirus, aka the Red China Flu or covid19, has put a temporary pause to the Lennard High boys basketball program. Twenty-seven members of the team and four coaches are now under quarantine until at least Dec. 22, according to head boys varsity basketball coach William Gilford.
Coach Gilford said the mother of a junior varsity player notified the coach and the school Dec. 8 that her son’s physician told him the player, a ninth grader on the JV, tested positive for covid 19. The quarantine was put in effect for the entire 14-man varsity and 13-man junior varsity and four basketball coaches since they all had used the same ball at a practice during warm-ups the previous day. That meant postponement of games with Leto that night and also with Riverview, Blomingdale, King and Mitchell.
Lennard Athletic Director John Guarisco said earlier this week that the entire girls varsity and junior varsity team, coaches and managers are also quarantined since they all practiced in the same gym as the boys on Dec. 7.
Guarisco said none of these basketball coaches or players or managers are allowed at the school for the two-week quarantine period. “They are all now registered in e-learning, so they can keep up with their classes at home on their computers,” said Guarisco.
Guarisco, referring to the basketball schedule, said he has already coordinated with the schools whose games with Lennard were cancelled in December. He said all but Bloomingdale have been re-scheduled for dates in January. Riverview will come to Ruskin to play the Longhorns boys and girls Jan. 12. Leto also will visit Jan. 13. The King game is re-set for Jan. 28 in Tampa. All boys varsity games start at 6:30 p.m. Additionally, the girls will play Alonso Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.
Prior to Lennard’s next scheduled home game with Strawberry Crest Jan. 5, the Longhorn boys varsity is set to participate in the Hernando Classic in Brooksville on Jan. 1, 2 and 4.
