There’s nothing like the sound of squeaky sneakers on the hardwood court to welcome mid-November in the prep sports world.

Unfortunately for Marin County and the rest of the Bay Area, those shoes belong to the football team.

With North Coast Section playoff games being postponed due to poor air quality from the Camp Fire in Butte County — multiple times — football, water polo, tennis and cross country teams have been forced to practice or even play games inside, if at all.

How do you practice for an NCS playoff game when the air-quality index reads 164? You take over the gym. #MarinFootball pic.twitter.com/KG8b9h9UX4 — Danny Schmidt (@TheRealDSchmidt) November 14, 2018

“The hardest thing is these are high school kids,” San Marin football co-coach Dom DiMare said before Tuesday’s practice. “Trying to keep them focused is a challenge. You can lose their attention. We’re trying to keep it as routine as possible. But they want to be here, they want to practice, they want to play this game. I just hope we get Saturday in at this point.

“We want to practice on the field every day, but we can only do what the air quality allows us to do. It’s day to day.”

Football games originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 10 were postponed until the following Monday. On Monday, the NCS pushed the games to this weekend. Last fall’s devastating North Bay fires caused countless practice and game cancellations, but those occurred during the regular season and make-up games were unnecessary.

San Marin’s practice on Tuesday, when the air-quality index read 164, began with a weight-room session before the team went into the gym. The fourth-seeded Mustangs — who are set to host No. 5 St. Bernard’s in the Division IV quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday — stretched, ran laps around the gym and practiced plays on midcourt. Players wore helmets, shorts and tennis shoes. There was no tackling.

According to CIF release, state football championships officially have been moved back one week to Dec 14-15 at Cerritos College & home sites. NorCal regional games will be Dec 7-8. SoCal regional games still set for Nov 30-Dec 1. SoCal/NorCal brackets to be released separately. — Cal-Hi Sports (@CalHiSports) November 13, 2018

If the AQI reads above 150, teams from all sports must practice indoors.

“It’s not like our opponent has changed,” said co-coach Cory Boyd, whose Mustangs had a first-round bye and will have had 21 days between games if they play Saturday. “It’s the same game plan we’ve been working on. I don’t know how much film we can watch on St. Bernard’s.”

@CIFNCS Executive Committee votes to adopt process for determining qualifiers to CIF Nor-Cal Championships, if necessary. https://t.co/Hstt9XBEpF Let's hope @CIFNCS can finish the championships and make any final decision on the field, court or pool. @CIFSports365 — CIF-NCS (@CIFNCS) November 14, 2018

Fortunately for Bay Area football teams, the California Interscholastic Federation announced Tuesday it pushed the Northern and Southern California playoffs a week back. NorCal regional games will be played Dec. 7-8, with state the following week. The NCS Executive Committee voted Wednesday to adopt a process for determining which teams qualify for NorCal championship games, if necessary.

As of now, No. 1 Branson is slated to host No. 4 Tomales in the eight-man semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday; No. 5 Marin Catholic travels to play No. 4 Granada in Livermore in the D-II quarterfinals; and No. 11 Terra Linda faces No. 3 Las Lomas in Walnut Creek in the D-III quarters.

As of Thursday evening, no decision had been made yet, but NCS commissioner Gil Lemmon told Bay Area News Group things do not look good for the NCS playoffs.

“Cross country and football, they are just up in the air. To be honest, it does not look good. We’re going to meet and we’re going to talk about if there is any possibility,” Lemmon said. “Right now, I have to tell you, that everything looks so bad that I am not so sure we’re going to be able to play this weekend.”

Cross country

Marin cross country teams have also been practicing indoors in the days leading up to Saturday’s North Coast Section championships in Hayward.

Since winning the MCAL boys team title on Wednesday, Drake has trained either at a local health club or the Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, often alongside Marin Catholic harriers, on treadmills and stationary bicycles.

“Coaches can be very creative,” Drake coach Robyn Berry said with a laugh. “We’re going to get it done.

“We may go to the starting line Saturday without having been able to run outside, and we’re prepared to do that. I don’t think we’re missing anything from a fitness standpoint. It’s novel, so it’s still kind of fun. There’s a lot of energy right now.”

Redwood coaches Laura and her son Jake Schmitt have opened their Thoroughbred Treadmill Studio in Mill Valley not only to the Giants but to other MCAL and out-of-county teams. Tam and Marin Catholic have joined Redwood for several workouts.

“Their long-term health obviously trumps everything,” Schmitt said. “I have no need to get these kids outside and rush it. When they’re 45, 50 years old, I want them to be in perfect health.

“Jake and I would do anything for any of these kids in Marin and in Santa Rosa and the East Bay. They’re phenomenal kids. For the kids, this is about friendships and doing something together, so it’s great that they get to run with kids from other schools. This is why we do it.”

Unlike football, the state cross country meet will likely remain scheduled for Nov. 24, placing a greater significance on completing Saturday’s NCS championships.

“It’s incredible what people are going through in Southern California and up in Paradise,” Schmitt said. “To have the luxury of being able to run is almost absurd. Our lives are blessed, and there are people going through real tragedy.”