COVID-19 sacks 2021 Polynesian Bowl
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2019
Team Makai defensive end and 3-star Navy recruit Tausili Fiatoa of Kahuku HS (40) celebrates his fumble recovery with Team Makai 4-star defensive tackle Matthew Pola-Mao of Chandler Arizona (90), Team Makai defensive end and 4-star Stanford recruit Joshua Pakola of St. Francis HS (8) and Team Makai defensive end and 4-star Alabama recruit Khris Bogle of Florida (99) during first half of the Polynesian Bowl at Aloha Stadium in 2019.
The 2021 Polynesian Bowl scheduled for next month was canceled due to the COVID-19 virus, officials announced this morning on social media.
The high school all-star game was to be played on Jan. 16, but it has become apparent in recent weeks that the outbreak of the virus on the mainland and locally were too much to overcome.
“Over the past several months, we have been working closely with State of Hawaii officials in order to host a safe and successful Polynesian Bowl,” a post on the Polynesian Bowl website read. “Due to the recent U.S. surge in COVID-19 cases, the complex state-by-state pre-testing and quarantine requirements for travelers and, most importantly, concern for the health and safety of our athletes, coaches and staff, we have made the very difficult decision not to play in 2021.
“We look forward to a better than ever 2022, where the world’s top high school football players will once again gather in Hawaii to celebrate culture and play the game they love.”
It is expected that the game will return in 2022, although possible long-term problems with Aloha Stadium could affect that decision.
