Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Rockets' early basketball schedules have changed

The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets did some tweaking to their boys' and girls' basketball schedules, as the COVID-19 pandemic complicates matters in an ever-fluid situation.

Originally, the start of the winter sports season in North Dakota was postponed until December 14 by an executive order from Governor Doug Burgum on Friday, November 13, but that decision was later changed to allow sports practices to begin on November 30 and games to start on December 14.

As their season begins first, the Rocket girls' basketball team's slate will see the most drastic alterations. Scheduled games with Rolette-Wolford (originally set for Tuesday, December 1) and North Star (for this Tuesday, December 8) have been postponed, with no makeup date specified as of yet. The revised slate also wipes out the CNDC Tournament, which would have been held December 3-5 in Rugby.

The NR-S girls, coached by Elliott Belquist this season as he begins his second stint as head coach of the program, will open their 2020-21 campaign on the road at Carrington Tuesday night, December 15. It will be a 7th grade-8th grade-JV-varsity quadruple-header beginning at 4 p.m. The Rockets' first home game will be on December 29 against the Central Cass Squirrels, with junior varsity starting at noon followed by the varsity game.

As for the boys' team, the schedule will see relatively minor changes, the biggest one being that the CNDC Tournament will be held at remote sites on December 17-19 instead of at the central venue in Harvey. The Rockets, being the higher seed, will host the Rolla Bulldogs in the first round on December 17. Additional matchups from the tournament were not known at press time.

Led again by Head Coach Tyler Cook, NR-S begins their season Monday night, December 14, when they entertain Carrington for a JV-varsity twinbill in the NR-S gym beginning at 6 p.m.

Fan attendance restrictions during the pandemic have not been decided as of yet. Belquist, the NR-S athletic director, said that a decision will most likely be made later this week in advance of the boys' game against Carrington next Monday, and will most likely reflect what other area schools are electing to do.

The entire state remains at high risk for COVID-19 transmission, which mandates that event venues may only operate at 25% of capacity and no more than 50 persons are allowed within the building.