App State’s midweek game off due to more COVID-19 concerns

The Mountaineers were supposed to play Louisiana-Lafayette next Wednesday

Appalachian State has moved next Wednesday's game against Louisiana-Lafayette to December due to more positive COVID-19 tests. (Walt Unks / The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

The Appalachian State football team played without 20 players and three assistant coaches in last Saturday’s 52-21 over Campbell due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.

The Mountaineers won’t play at all next Wednesday.

App State and opponent Louisiana-Lafayette announced Thursday that their scheduled Sun Belt Conference game for next Wednesday night has been moved to December due to more positive tests in the Mountaineers program.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes and university community remain our top priorities as we continue to navigate the unprecedented effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” App State AD Doug Gillin said in a statement. “While we share in the disappointment of everyone who has worked hard to prepare for this football game, we have known that there will be challenges to maintaining the athletics calendar.”

The school said all of its active cases are in isolation, while anyone in close contact with those individuals is in quarantine.

Since neither team had an opening on its schedule, the game — which features the Sun Belt title matchup from each of the last two years — will be played either Dec. 4 or Dec. 5 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone.

“While we are disappointed that we will not be able to play Louisiana next week, we are prioritizing the health and safety of our team, our staff and the university community,” head App State coach Shawn Clark said.