Charleston High athletic director Derrick Zerrusen is looking for a new opponent for Friday’s football season opener after Robinson, decimated by COVID, had to pull out.

Robinson football coach Casey Pinnell said he made the difficult choice after watching his team “shrink by the day” after being forced to quarantine for testing positive for the coronavirus.

“As many already know, our football program has been absolutely rocked by this damn virus that still continues to plague this world we live in,” Pinnell wrote in a personal post shared by the Robinson High football Facebook page. “I have never in my career had to cancel a football game, I have lived through a thousand lifetimes full of adversity in my life and never tucked tail from any of it. Tonight, was tough.”

Zerrusen said the game against Robinson would not be rescheduled, per IHSA and NFHS rules. Rather than accept the forfeit victory, Zerrusen will continue to reach out to programs in order to find a suitable opponent.

“The stance of the Charleston High School administration is always to provide students with as many opportunities as possible, Zerrusen stated in a press release. “As such, every effort will be exhausted to find a suitable replacement.”