The McQuaid Jesuit football team's championship run hit an abrupt halt on Saturday as their Class AA west regional game against Bennett High School in Buffalo was postponed.

This came after a judge approved McQuaid’s request for a temporary restraining order, to prevent the Erie County Department of Health from enforcing its COVID-19 guideline that says only vaccinated players can play in the game.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association made the decision to postpone the game after, stating:

"The New York State Department of Health and local departments of health will have the final jurisdiction over NYSPHSAA regional and state championship events pertaining to matters of public health."

McQuaid also released a statement, calling the decision to postpone "abrupt."

The school says it all happened after some players and an assistant coach tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The school says after they learned of the positive cases, the team was placed on a 72-hour pause for contact practice. With guidance from the Monroe County Department of Public Health, the team tested all players and coaches for three consecutive days including Saturday morning. Those who tested positive had to begin isolation immediately.

NYSPHSAA says the court hearing regarding McQuaid’s temporary restraining order will take place Monday, with the rescheduled game taking place Tuesday, Nov. 23.

Section VI, whose representative in the regional game is Bennett High School, says despite multiple cases on the McQuaid team, it still had a large number of eligible players to compete as scheduled.

The Section VI executive committee is now asking NYSPHSAA to declare a forfeit, making Bennett regional champs.

The section president says in part,

“Section VI will reach out to our representative legal team in an effort to advocate for our champion, Bennett,” Section President Brett Banker said in a statement. “McQuaid made the decision, and chose to not comply with ECDOH restrictions. By forcing Bennett to possibly delay into next week creates an unfair competitive disadvantage for their athletes and does not help ensure the health and safety of this team.  We are not interested in creating that scenario.”