Five St. Petersburg Catholic players were diagnosed with staph infections prior to Friday night's Class 3A-5 district game at Admiral Farragut. Barons athletic director Mike Moran said it was detected early and the players have been put on antibiotics. Coach Dave Cleppe said the five will be able to play Friday.
"It's not a major outbreak and we'll still be able to play against Admiral Farragut,'' Moran said. "We've notified Farragut about what's going on. We have it under control.''
Moran said a special cleaning crew recently sanitized the locker and weight rooms. Staph infections are caused by contagious bacteria that usually cause the skin to dry and turn red. In its most serious form, staph it can develop into MRSA, which is resistant to antibiotics and can be fatal.