Northampton head football coach Kyle Haas didn’t plan to alter his team’s course in spite of circling rumors of a postponed fall sports season.

That was the talk leading up to last week’s EPC schedule release.

“We will continue our voluntary workouts,” said Haas. “Our kids were obviously upset when there was talk of a postponed season.

“I haven’t heard of an outbreak anywhere. We have followed the guidelines and haven’t had any issues.”

Haas didn’t see any signs of declining morale.

“The kids want to play,” he added. “They have stayed positive and have been eager to keep moving forward.

“We have been moving through the phases, and we’re not going to stop doing what we are doing. We take temperatures every day, and I don’t know how many bags I have disinfected over the past few weeks.”

Haas has lost some players along the way, but the overwhelming majority has followed the script.

“We weren’t able to have our usual workouts, and that hurt us in some ways,” said Haas. “Most of our kids worked out on their own, but some found some other things to do. As a result, some of them quit.

“Our kids have stayed in town and have stayed focus all along.”

Senior lineman Sam Nelson didn’t want to see his efforts and others go asunder.

“Well, the season being canceled simply can’t happen,” said Nelson. “There are a lot of players that have invested too much for it to end like that.

“There are ways to keep everyone safe and still have sports. It is easy to say to not have a season. Anyone can do it. These seniors need a season. It must happen.”

Like his senior, Haas needs to be convinced.

“I don’t know what they would be basing them facts on,” said Haas. “I can’t see any rationale. There are no outbreaks. The kids want to play, and the parents are behind them.”

Northampton and the rest of the East Penn Conference officially will begin practice Sept. 7 with the first games to be held Oct. 2. The league released a schedule last Friday (which is listed to the left of this story) after meeting on Thursday to discuss the season, which they voted to proceed with.

Until the official start, Haas and his players won’t deviate off the path.

“We have to use some common sense in this thing,” said Haas. “We’ll keep practicing until they take my keys to the stadium.”