As Tropical Storm Isaac continues to batter southeast Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, Friday’s prep football games are still on as scheduled.
That could change quickly, however, when the storm was expected to intensify in Pike County on Wednesday night.
School officials from North Pike, Parklane Academy and South Pike said while the games are on as scheduled, it could change based on the aftermath of the storm. McComb has a bye week and is unaffected by the storm.
Schools in Pike County had a 3 p.m. meeting Wednesday afternoon with Pike County Civil Defense Director Richard Coghlan to discuss any possible school closures today or Friday. South Pike and Parklane are closed today but an announcement for North Pike was unavailable before presstime.
The only local game in Pike County on Friday is at South Pike, where the Eagles host Amite County.
“I haven’t heard anything of yet,” South Pike coach Michael Andrews said. “I’m hoping we can play.”
If South Pike can’t host Friday’s games, it could be pushed back to Saturday or even Monday.
Public school games would first need approval from the Mississippi Athletic Activities Association for a Monday kickoff.
School closures Friday would not allow games to be played until Saturday. Even then, possible power outages or damage to stadiums could postpone the contests.
Tylertown’s game at Franklin County has already been pushed back to Saturday at 2:30 p.m., the school announced Tuesday.
Luckily, all Friday’s games are non-conference. All three teams don’t have any open dates, which means the games wouldn’t be made up if cancelled.
Parklane and Centreville Academy are still set for Friday’s game in Centreville, but things could change.
“We are looking at playing Friday night (or ) Saturday,” Parklane Headmaster Jack Henderson said Wednesday. “We don’t know if they’ll have power, lose power Friday night. We don’t know if they have any damage. Right now it’s one big ‘I don’t know.’ ”
If Parklane closes school today and reopens Friday, it could be hard to play without having practiced. However, Henderson said that won’t be an issue.
“As long as we are on the same page as they are, if they haven’t practiced and we haven’t practiced, it’s even and better for everybody,” he said.
Henderson said Parklane will have three tries to get the game in. If Friday, Saturday or Monday can’t work, the game would not be rescheduled.
Meanwhile, North Pike’s game Friday is against Germantown up in Madison, which is out of Isaac’s direct path.
Germantown has a state-of-the art turf field, allowing quick drainage of the field if flooding were to occur.
“We haven’t made any decision yet,” North Pike athletic director Chuck Freeman said. “We have spoken with Germantown and are waiting and seeing.”
Freeman shared the notion with South Pike and Parklane that Saturday or Monday are possible dates.
Follow Sean Isabella on Twitter @ST_Isabella10.
