TAMPA, Fla. - Back to school means back to football for high school players.

Time to put in the work to prepare for the upcoming season. And once again, time to wonder whether there will be hurdles in their way.

“It’s really real,” Tampa Bay Tech head coach Jayson Roberts said.

More than a year after the pandemic turned their world upside down, a Covid cloud still hangs over these high school student athletes.

“It feels like its about to come back,” Manatee head coach Jacquez Green said, “so I’m telling the kids to make sure they stay safe and start washing their hands and just want to make sure the kids protect themselves.”

The rising numbers in Florida, might force these teams to wait and see if COVID-19 will prevent them from taking the field. That’s why if the masks have to go back on and they have to social distance, these players will do it.

“It’s pretty much to be safe, you know. If you still want to play the game, I say take the safest precautions,” Tech senior wide receiver Gregory Gaines III said. “Be cautious, take the safest route really.”

Roberts remains in awe of how these teenagers are handling the ever changing situation.

“Our kids rolled with the punches, one after another, with all of the restrictions and the guidelines,” he said. “You can’t tell me that we don’t have a group of guys who don’t love football. Our guys did everything we asked them to do.”