Sept. 4 set as opener but most won’t play that soon
After months of deliberation and debate wrapped around the coronavirus pandemic the FHSAA approved Friday, Sept. 4, as opening day for Florida high school football games last week.
But only a handful of Orlando area teams, all from private schools, plan to play that soon. Central Florida’s public school districts will not start football seasons until the week of Friday, Sept. 18, when Seminole County and Volusia County teams are permitted to open. Osceola and Lake County football will kick off the following week.
Multiple sources have told the Sentinel the Orange County Public Schools district is also strongly considering allowing football games on Sept. 17-18. But that decision may not be made official before the OCPS school board meets again Tuesday.
Sept. 4 games in the revised 2020 schedule include Orangewood Christian at Foundation Academy and Faith Christian at Mount Dora Christian. Those are matchups of schools in the newly-formed Pac-8 coalition.
“The kids are really looking forward to playing,” Orangewood coach Bill Gierke said Thursday. “Two weeks ago, they thought we weren’t going to be able to play. They thought the season was going to be called off.”
Gierke, the area’s all-time wins leader with a 302-122-1 career record during 37 seasons, said he has never seen anything like the impact COVID-19 has had.
“At this point, I’m just glad the kids are getting an opportunity to play,” he said. “If they get to play eight games, I think that would be awesome. You can’t predict what’s going to happen. None of us can.”
The FHSAA approved Monday as the start date for official practices. That means teams that play Sept. 4 will have a maximum of 10 practice days if they use a Saturday. No live contact is allowed until Day 6 of practice.
“It’s a quick turnaround. But from a physical standpoint, a strength standpoint, I think we’ll be OK,” said firstyear Mount Dora Christian coach Mike Kintz.
Seminole Athletic Conference openers include the Lake Brantley at Lake Mary rivalry game on Thursday, Sept. 17. Reigning conference champ Seminole is tentatively set to also open that night at home against ancient rival DeLand. The Seminole County Public Schools District requested no athletic competition be held on Friday, Sept. 18, in observance of the Rosh Hashana Jewish holiday.
If Orange County mimics the SCPS football start date, its first week slate will include a short road trip for 2019 Class 5A state runner-up Jones High to play at Bishop Moore, Orlando’s Catholic high school, in a clash of familiar district rivals. That game is tentatively set for Thursday, Sept. 17, or Friday,
Sept. 18, pending the OCPS decision.
Other openers that week for Metro Conference schools, if approved, could include Dr. Phillips at Boone, Hagerty at Timber Creek, Winter Park at Orlando University, East River at Wekiva, Lake Nona at Cypress Creek and Olympia at Windermere.
Edgewater, last season’s 7A state runner-up, was scheduled to travel to play Louisiana power John Curtis Christian on the weekend of Sept. 18 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La. But Louisiana is not starting its season until Oct. 8 or later.
A number of football coaches told the Sentinel on Thursday they are still working to lock down an opening game. DeLand coach Steve Allen said his team’s cross-country rivalry game against Daytona Beach Mainland, which was originally set as an August season opener at home, was rescheduled to Oct. 16.
Mount Dora, Tavares and Eustis dropped games against Bishop Moore since district games are not mandatory this year. That leaves Leesburg as the only Lake County team the Hornets will play. Bishop Moore has six of its eight available game dates filled. The Jones schedule is also likely to be impacted if the same Lake County schools have dropped the Tigers.
The revised FHSAA playoff system, forced by the coronavirus outbreak, will for the first time allow every team that opts in to participate in the football state playoffs, which are scheduled to be contested during a span of six weeks, from Nov. 13 through state finals on Dec. 10-12 and 17-19. Umatilla coach Charlie Cerney said his team, like Tohopekaliga, is opting out of the state series. The Bulldogs have eight games lined up and may add a ninth.
Most of the public school districts that are permitting Sept. 4 football games are in smaller counties, mostly in North Florida, where coronavirus numbers have been relatively low. But the list also includes several Southwest Florida counties, including Sarasota and Charlotte.