‘It’s upsetting’: Deltona forced to forfeit football playoff game over COVID

DELTONA, Fla. - Deltona High School will have to forfeit its football playoff game Friday after a player from the team they played last week tested positive for COVID-19, district officials confirm.

Emmanuel Manosalvas is a senior on the team. He said his coach delivered the devastating news Tuesday during practice. 

“Once I knew he had a cracking voice, and kinda sad, I knew something was wrong,” he said.

A spokesperson with Volusia County Schools said a player from Tampa Freedom who the school played last week tested positive. 

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Manosalvas said it was a tough pill to swallow especially since the game versus Freedom was the first time they ever won in the playoffs.

“Like even alumni and stuff they never won it. A lot of great players played in Deltona and they never won it in 32 years so for us to be the first it was special,” he said. 

School alum and longtime Deltona resident Jason Peloquin said he’s heartbroken for the team. 

“It’s upsetting because I was hoping they'd be able to go all the way, but it’s sad because of what’s going on they had to forfeit,” he said. 

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Manosalvas said if the team had won Friday, they would have moved on to regionals and he hoped even further.

“So we just wanted to keep making history so when they told us that everybody just got really sad and was like wow high school football is really over,” he said. 

Although a promising season was cut short, he says the desire to leave a legacy at Deltona High School is not over.

“For the young guys that are staying at Deltona you know do something we didn’t do. Win a second-round playoff game,” he said.

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