COVID puts end to Mingus boys, girls basketball seasons

The rest of the Mingus Union High School boys and girls basketball seasons have been canceled because a number of players will be in COVID quarantine until Saturday. VVN file photo

The rest of the Mingus Union High School boys and girls basketball seasons have been canceled because a number of players will be in COVID quarantine until Saturday. VVN file photo

COTTONWOOD - The rest of the Mingus Union High School boys and girls basketball seasons have been canceled because a number of players will be in COVID quarantine until Saturday, according to girls coach Paul Ventura and boys coach Albert Rodriguez.

The boys will lose four games and the girls will lose three games, according to AzPrep365.

The remaining regular-season games for the Sedona boys and girls high school basketball teams have also been canceled, according to AzPrep365. Pedro Ortega, athletic director SRRJH/HS, did not return phone calls Tuesday morning.

The Mingus players were exposed to a referee who tested positive after their home game, Ventura said.

Ventura said the team had a game last Friday night against Lee Williams, which they lost 44-34, and he got a call Saturday afternoon that one of the officials tested positive for COVID.

Lee Williams preferred to play the girl’s game and the boy’s game on the same night, Ventura said. One referee did both of the games and he believes that is the one that was positive, Ventura said.

Everyone wears masks and uses hand-sanitizer, but Ventura said he was told it was the combination of risk-factors that required the players who were on the floor during the game to quarantine.

Coaches, staff and any player who were not in the game did not have to quarantine, he said. “That was only two kids.”

None of his players have tested positive as far as he knows, the coach said.

Boys basketball coach Rodriguez said he played 10 or 11 players against Lee Williams, which Mingus beat 56-36. “It pretty much ends our season,” he said.

Rodriguez was not aware if any of the boys players have tested positive.

The team was told it would need seven days of quarantine for the players. That would put them at Friday, the last day of the season, Ventura pointed out.

The Mingus boys basketball team had one game canceled earlier in the season against Deer Valley because seven players were in quarantine for a week. Rodriquez said.

The JV and freshmen teams are not affected since the referee only did the two varsity games last week, Ventura said.

Monday was supposed to be Senior Night for the girls’ team, Ventura said, and Friday for the boys’ team.

So the coach is trying to figure out something because the Arizona Interscholastic Association is telling him they can’t play an AIA sanctioned game after Friday. “It would affect rankings,” he said

Rodriguez said he would like to do a senior night event since the boys won’t make the playoffs (4-9), but he is not sure there is time with spring sports around the corner. “They certainly deserve something.”

“I’m very proud of them for seeing it through to the end,” Rodriquez said. “Not everybody made it,”

“We lost a lot of players along the way for different reasons,” Rodriquez said.

It’s rough on them to end the season this way after all their hard work, he added.

Since the girl’s team also won’t make the playoffs (4-10), Ventura said he would try to invite a team to play a non-AIA sanctioned game to get the kids their Senior Night.

“That’s my goal right now,” Ventura said. “We can still get certified referees to do it.”


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