High school football has never been without its incongruities, evidenced by what the kids and coaches faced Thursday when practice — sorry, Organized Team Activities — began for 2021.

Example: This piece of Americana about which books have been written and movies made begins with weather honoring that sage Buster Poindexter ("Hot, Hot, Hot" — as it did Thursday) and always ends in the chill of December, when you can hang meat from the goalposts.

Still, traditional ironies have nothing on the current plight of the dramatis personae, who suddenly entertain thoughts about their sport they (and nobody else) could fathom only two years ago. Such is life when a pandemic becomes endemic.

"It used to be that my first worry going into every season was 'do I have a quarterback in the building?'" Montville coach Tanner Grove was saying. "Now it's 'will we be permitted to be together as a whole group or will we get a phone call from the powers that be shutting everything down?' My expectations have been tempered in the last year and a half."

And so we enter the COVID High School Football Season of 2021, a corn maze of maybes, could-bes ... or not at all. Here it is, mid-August, beginning on summer's green fields. But by the time of the autumn winds, what will the season look like? Will there be a season? Will there be shutdowns? Quarantines? New protocols? How will the kids and coaches negotiate changing circumstances?

The following bullet points come from Fitch coach Mike Ellis, on the uniqueness of coaching in COVID, during a career as a player, assistant and head coach approaching 30 years:

• "What are we going to cover and install and can we go about it the same way as we have in the past? Or do we have to slow things down because they haven't played?"

• "Equipment. We're not going to bring the kids in the fieldhouse to change so we have to find a place to hang their helmets and shoulder pads somewhere in school."

• "We have to wear masks in the fieldhouse (for pregame, halftime and postgame). But we don't have to wear them on the field. Who distributes the masks to the kids and how long does that process take?"

• "We're not in the weight room, so how do we lift?"

• "Film sessions. I don't think we will watch film as a team in the fieldhouse together. Probably in small groups with position coaches on Sundays. How will that look?"

And then Ellis paused and said, "that's just a sampling."

Neither the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the Eastern Connecticut Conference nor individual school systems have mandated vaccines for participation. There is no routine COVID testing planned. Grove said vaccinated players in Montville may return to practice upon feeling better, but unvaccinated players must quarantine. Too many players on quarantine could lead to postponements. Translation: All we know about the upcoming season is what we don't know.

"I'm on the (CIAC football) committee and I've listened and talked during a million meetings," Grove said. "This has really hit the coaches, players and family members of football players really hard."

Lest we forget that as much as the ECC was a state beacon last fall for "football activities" — 7 on 7 and linemen challenges — wearing the pads presents a different narrative. Nobody's been hit for two years. Most juniors, who normally have earned starting positions through two years in the program, have never played varsity. The only seniors with varsity time had to be good enough to see the field as sophomores.

"We're all very appreciative of the opportunity we got last year with the 7 on 7 and the lineman challenges," Ellis said. "But it doesn't simulate a game. Once the pads are on, what are we going to see?"

Solace, if there is any, hovers around the idea that everyone else missed last season, too. So week one, which arrives in a month, will be filled with Gomer Pyle's favorite three words: "surprise, surprise, surprise."

"I think we've learned to appreciate being together, because you just never know anymore," Ellis said. "We always took it for granted. Now, I don't think you can take anything for granted."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro