Rome City Schools announced in a press release this morning that the result of the Thursday night bus crash in Polk County returning home from a scrimmage with Rockmart means they won’t be playing their first game of the season.

Rome’s upcoming season-opener at Barron Stadium in the Corky Kell Classic has been called off in an effort to maintain player safety, per the release. The Wolves were set to face off against Creekside in the season-opener.

The release did not say if the two teams would make up the game at a later date. The team now has a two-week break in their schedule, and will play their opener against Carrollton on August 30.

Here’s the full release from Rome City Schools:

Rome High School’s football team will not be able to play in the Corky Kell Dave Hunter Classic game scheduled to be played on Friday, Aug. 16. The school is taking this precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the football players who were involved in the bus accident on Thursday evening.

“We obviously want to play the game if possible, but after the players were evaluated by physicians we realized that it was not in their best interest to suit up and play on Friday. We hope everyone understands this measure, but the safety of our student-athletes comes first,” Rome High Football Coach John Reid said. “We want to thank the organizers of the Corky Kell Dave Hunter Classic for understanding, and we want to thank the community for all the prayers and support you have offered us after the incident on Thursday.”

One of the buses carrying Rome High players and coaches was involved in an accident returning to Rome after Thursday’s scrimmage against Rockmart.

Rome’s next scheduled football game is an away game at Carrollton on Friday, Aug. 30.

Suspect out on bond

In a related update, the woman responsible for the Thursday night crash on Highway 101 in Polk County just outside of Aragon was released from custody on bond.

Jeyonna Jariah Underwood, 21, of a Rome address, was booked late last week into custody at the Polk County Jail by Georgia State Patrol on felony and misdemeanor DUI charges and a failure to maintain lane charge following the crash.

Underwood was released from custody on a $3,352 bond the same day as her arrest.

She is accused of causing the wreck after losing control of her vehicle and striking the bus on the rear driver’s side, causing both vehicles to crash. Underwood’s car spun out, while the bus rolled over and struck a power pole carrying teammates home.

Officials ultimately put the number at six as injured and requiring hospitalization. Those six were released from the hospital on Friday following the crash.