While there was uncertainty following junior colleges pushing football back to the spring and Louisiana announcing its high school football season is postponed, the Mississippi High School Activities Association announced Tuesday afternoon there will be football this fall.
The MHSAA Executive Committee voted for the season to be pushed back two weeks and will now begin Sept. 4, with practices starting Aug. 17. The first two games of the season have been eliminated, meaning the rivalry game between Columbia and East Marion has been canceled. Both East Marion head coach Brad Hughes and Columbia head coach Chip Bilderback said Tuesday they’d be interested in trying to schedule a scrimmage for Aug. 28, the original date of the game, a week before the opener if allowed.
Bilderback said he’s excited the season will be played and that the Wildcats have had a solid summer despite all of the restrictions posed on practicing amid the pandemic.
“Football is a unique sport because you work so hard all year, and you only get a certain amount of playing dates and only 10 dates when basketball and baseball play 20-plus games,” he said. “To be afraid we’d lose our season and now that we’ll be able to play, we are excited about that. This is what you work all year for.”
Hughes echoed the excitement and said he’s happy the kids will get the opportunity to play.
“We’ve all been anxiously awaiting to see what was going to happen so we’re pretty excited about it and ready to get going,” he said.
Bilderback said the Columbia-East Marion game is always important to the community, and it’s important for the players to win the Marion County Football Championship, which the Wildcats have won each of the last two years. He added it’s always a great boost to the budget as well, and it’s disappointing the game won’t get to be played. Hughes agreed.
“It’s such a rivalry,” Hughes said. “The kids enjoy it. The community enjoys it. With East Marion and Columbia being an in-county game with the schools right down the road, I think it will be a disappointment.”
Initially the season was set to begin Aug. 21, with East Marion hosting Amite County, West Marion hosting Purvis and Columbia traveling to Mendenhall. Now the season will open with East Marion playing host to West Marion and Columbia playing host to Wilkinson County Sept. 4.
There was no announcement regarding whether fans will be allowed to attend games. Hughes said he’s guessing there will be some limit on fans to adhere with state guidelines.
As of right now, the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools is still expected to open its season on time, with Columbia Academy beginning its season at home Aug. 21 against Simpson Academy.
Volleyball was also pushed back a few weeks and is now set to start Aug. 24.
West Marion head coach Brad Duncan could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
