The biggest question for area football coaches is when?
When will games be made up or will they be made up?
Ware County’s home game against Benedictine, which was moved to Monday (September 30) ahead of Hurricane Helene, has been postponed.
“We’ve (administration) been on the phone with their (Cadets) people,” said Gators’ head coach Jason Strickland. “It’s a region game that’s got to be played.
When will they be able to gather the troops?
“Right now we have players who are not in town,” Strickland said of looking ahead to a possible matchup with New Hampstead Friday in Pooler. “Many left because of the situation. We’re (coaches) gathering today (Sunday, September 29) to talk about who’s here and who’s not.”
Discussions of possibly playing Saturday, October 5 are on the table.
The Gators (2-3 overall, 0-0 Region 1AAAA), losers of two straight, are 4-0 against New Hampstead (2-4, 0-1). The Phoenix have lost three straight including their region opener at Perry, 80-47. Ware County has not faced New Hampstead since 2019. The Ware County School system was to make a decision concerning a return to school Tuesday (October 1).
Top-ranked Pierce County head coach Ryan Herring, who was scheduled to play at Vidalia Saturday, said GHSA was to issue a plan Tuesday, October 1 about moving forward after talking with Jay Russell, GHSA assistant executive director.
“GHSA wanted all games from last week either played Friday, Saturday or Monday,” said Herring. “There are places, like us, that still don’t have power. I don’t know what is going to happen with the Vidalia game.
“We’re suppose to play Cook (home) Friday and we (coaches) can’t even break down film right now. We’re going to try and bring the guys in to lift and run early in the week, but right now we just don’t know anything until GHSA makes its announcement.”
The Bears (5-0) host Cook (2-4), losers of four consecutive games, in the Region 3-AA opener for both. The Hornets hold a 104 series lead. The two teams are meeting for the first time since 2015, a 41-14 win by PCHS at home.
When asked about extending the regular season one week and GHSA eliminating the Thanksgiving bye week in the playoffs, Herring said the early indications of that happening were not being discussed yet.
Brantley County head coach David Shores said his matchup with Region 1 foe Worth County will be scheduled after being postponed.
“We’re (both programs) are talking about rescheduling at the end of the season,” said Shores. The first-year coach of the Herons is hoping to play fifth-ranked Fitzgerald as scheduled Friday. “They have power for lights at their (Purple Hurricane) field and I’ve been told we should have lights possibly tomorrow (Monday),” Shores said. “Everything is day-to-day right now. The biggest thing for us and Fitzgerald is how many of our players are still here and are able to receive text messages about practices. I’ve told them to be looking Monday announcing our practice schedule.”
The meeting is the first between the two schools since 2005 with Fitzgerald holding a 6-0 series lead.
The Pierce County School System and Brantley County School System were going to be closed until further notice.
