TIFTON — Tift County’s absence on the high school football field will extend one more week. According to several individuals in the school system, the Blue Devils will be idle again Friday as their game against Coffee was canceled.

The Blue Devils are in quarantine through Wednesday, Sept. 23, which meant they would not be able to practice until Thursday. Even if Tift could have readied itself on such short notice, they would have been prevented from playing by Georgia High School Association re-acclimation rules.

On the first day of re-acclimation, a team may only spent 1.5 hours conditioning and can only wear helmets. Friday, which will be the second day of re-acclimation, they are still limited to helmets. Only on the fifth day of re-acclimation are players permitted to participate in games.

Tift County’s next scheduled game is Oct. 2 at Irwin County. It will be their first game since Sept. 4.