Despite a crushing loss to Sherwood, the Springbrook Varsity Football team showed up Monday ready to play, ending a week full of off-field distractions.

The team experienced a health scare on Monday, September 15, when the boys’ football locker rooms were sprayed with a disinfectant after a junior varsity (JV) player developed a skin condition. The ailment, first thought to be a staph infection, was later discovered to be a minor skin condition. As a precautionary measure, the shoulder pads were also sprayed the next day with the same disinfectant used to clean the locker rooms.

The varsity players practiced  Tuesday afternoon wearing the disinfected gear.

“As practices went on, some of the other players started complaining and itching their shoulders, and when they took their shirts off after practice, it looked like someone put a hot iron on their backs,” said junior Amadou Tall.

The next day, many players complained of rashes and burns on their upper bodies and some had to leave school. Some players even had to be taken to the emergency room to receive treatment. Because of the hazardous symptoms, the team had to throw out the old equipment and order new gear. According to Athletic Director Rob Wendel, the approximate cost to replace the damaged equipment is “$15,000 to $20,000”.

Since the team had no equipment to play their game against Sherwood, the game was postponed until the following Monday. Varsity football coach Adam Bahr and the players tried to keep a positive attitude despite all of the events that had occurred during the week.

“We are trying to treat this game like any other game, and hopefully a lot of people will be there since its on a Monday,” said senior Jabree Ray.

Although the game didn’t turn out as the football team would have hoped, the Blue Devils showed remarkable resilience by coming out and competing. In a season full of adversities, with Springbrook getting outscored 109-12 in its first three games, observers noted that the hardest games are behind Springbrook, and that the future looks much brighter.