Seneca Valley junior varsity football coaches Jim Rekowski, right, and Joe Laukaitis encourage defensive linemen during summer workouts recently at NexTier Stadium. The first official practice date for fall high school athletes will be Aug. 17.

For weeks, high school athletes in Butler County have been settling into a new normal.

Temperature checks. Masks. Social distancing. Disinfecting everything.

All to make sure fall sports seasons happen.

The predominant feeling was things were right on track.

Until Gov. Tom Wolf threw a false start flag at the end of his news conference Thursday morning, recommending fall sports be paused until at least Jan. 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

That statement sent the PIAA, the state's athletic governing body, into a frenzy and jolted school administrators, coaches and athletes into a state of confusion.

This is an excerpt - pick up Friday's Butler Eagle or subscribe online to read the full article.