Update: The schools are now seeking NJSIAA approval to reschedule the game for Nov. 19. We will update the story as needed.

By Dan Hirshberg

The refrain “Wait ‘til next year” is exactly what fans of one of the greatest long-time football rivalries in New Jersey will have to do. 

Due to an outbreak of COVID at Hackettstown High School, the scheduled contest—what would have been the 95th meeting between the Tigers and Blues Streaks of Warren Hills this Friday—has been cancelled. The “make-up date” will have to wait until the Fall of 2021.

For Hackettstown, the season is officially over. 

A statement released late last week from Hackettstown Superintendent David C. Mango read, in part, “My office was just informed that there is another positive case of COVID-19 at the Hackettstown High School. This positive confirmation will cancel the remaining football season for the ‘20-‘21 school year.”

Warren Hills will continue on despite last week’s cancellation of a game against Morris Catholic “due to an abundance of extreme caution and safety,” according to a message sent to the Warren Hills community by the school’s athletic director Mike Jones. That cancellation came about because Hackettstown had played Morris Catholic the week before. 

This Friday, the Streaks are now scheduled to host Belvidere, a former rival that they have not met on the football field in 25 years. Friday’s game is set for a 6 p.m. kickoff. It is also Homecoming for the Streaks.