Clinton shuts football down over COVID-19, cancels games against Meigs County, Powell

Clinton has shut down all football-related activities for 14 days, Anderson County Schools announced via Twitter on Tuesday. The school can resume football activities on Sept. 23, an Anderson County Schools spokesperson confirmed. 

Clinton (0-3) has canceled its games against Meigs County on Friday and Powell on Sept. 18. 

In a video posted on Twitter, first-year Clinton coach Darell Keith said the shutdown is due to concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19. 

"Unfortunately we have some kids exposed to COVID-19 and by CDC regulations we have to shut down for two weeks," Keith said in the video. "I need all football players to stay at home and be quarantined for 14 days." 

Clinton is scheduled to play Oak Ridge on Sept. 25. 

Clinton is the fifth team in the Knox News coverage area that has shut down and canceled games this season. Greeneville canceled its Week 1 game against Powell after the Greeneville City School system called off all athletic activities due to cases of COVID-19 among the students.

Bearden shut down for two weeks on Aug. 16, canceling its first two games against West and Maryville. Bearden played its first game Sept. 4. 

Karns canceled its first game against Walker Valley but was cleared by the Knox County Health Department to return in Week 2. 

And last week, Union County announced it was suspending all football-related activities until Sept. 15.