Week one of the 2021 high school football season will be played without the Dunkirk varsity team participating.

The Marauders were scheduled to play Kenmore East tonight in Kenmore, but a majority of the team is currently quarantined due to complications from COVID-19. And while the squad has more than enough players on its roster to field a team, most of them won’t have the required amount of practice.

“We need ten team practices to be able to play,” said Dunkirk coach Mark Benton. “We couldn’t have missed even one practice and still have been eligible. We would have enough eligible players otherwise.”

Currently the Marauders sit at eight practices overall, putting the timeline to start on a very quick crunch. Benton said the schedule lent an advantage to the teams who begin their season on Saturday.

“It’s kind of an unfair advantage that half the teams got an extra practice,” Benton said. “But we’re doing our best over here and the attitude is outstanding.”

It’s been a tough week for Dunkirk football because, on top of dealing with issues related to COVID-19, the water-main break in the city that occurred earlier this week made it so players came to practice without water for the first couple days.

“We had to deal with the major water break,” Benton said. “Kids had to come to practice on Monday and Tuesday with no water, so I was bringing them jugs of water from Gowanda (where Benton lives).”

With Dunkirk’s game against Kenmore East getting moved, their next scheduled game against Lake Shore next week is also in jeopardy. Benton already knows it won’t be played on Thursday as scheduled, but with it being a league game, it will have to get shuffled around.

“I got a note from Section VI that they’re working with Lake Shore and seeing what would work so we can get enough practice in,” Benton said. “We’re still waiting to see how many practices we can get in. The game won’t be Thursday though, I can tell you that.”

Dunkirk’s turnout for both the varsity and junior varsity for Dunkirk has been pretty strong this year. Benton said that the varsity roster has 28 players on it, while the junior varsity has 26. Because the teams have been separated for the most part, the junior varsity game against Kenmore East, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday morning is still on, as far as Benton knows. Additionally, the coaching staff and a few players are vaccinated, meaning that those players will be able to practice.

“We’re going to go forward with the kids we have, and the junior varsity kids until the quarantine is lifted,” Benton said. “We have some varsity kids who are fully cleared to practice. Maybe we can see Kenmore again at the end of the season.” In spite of all the setbacks the team has faced this early into the season, Benton said things have otherwise been going well and the team is looking forward to getting to play its first game.

“Outside of COVID, everyone has been pretty healthy,” Benton said. “We’re going to keep working until we can resume next week and, hopefully, get several practices together. Everything has been going well.”

High School Football Schedule

All games at 7 p.m. unless noted

WEEK 1

TODAY

Niagara Falls vs. McKinley at Riverside Field

North Tonawanda at Clarence

Williamsville North at Williamsville East

Orchard Park at Jamestown

Hamburg at Niagara-Wheatfield

Amherst at Sweet Home

Grand Island at Cheektowaga

Dunkirk at Kenmore East, canceled

Lake Shore at West Seneca East

Williamsville South at Frontier

South Park at West Seneca West

East Aurora vs. Burgard at All-High Stadium

Royalton-Hartland at Albion

Lewiston-Porter at Wilson

Bishop Timon at Medina

Salamanca at Springville

JFK at Randolph

Cattaraugus-Little Valley at Allegany-Limestone

Gowanda at Portville

Saturday, Sept. 4

Franklinville/Ellicottville at Lackawanna, 1 p.m.

Cassadaga Valley/Falconer vs. Clymer/Sherman/Panama at Clymer, 1:30 p.m.

Starpoint vs. Hutch Tech at Riverside Field, 2 p.m.

WNY Maritime vs. Bennett at All-High Stadium, 2 p.m.

Depew at Newfane, 2 p.m.

Lancaster at Lockport, 2 p.m.

Kenmore West at Pioneer

Akron at Chautauqua Lake

Olean at Fredonia

Alden at Avon

Maryvale at Cleveland Hill

Southwestern at Iroquois

Eden at Tonawanda

Cardinal O’Hara at Silver Creek/Forestville

Holley at Frewsburg (8-man)