After two-plus weeks of chaos caused by a stoppage in place due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, all three of Burke County’s active varsity high school football teams either have resumed play or now know when they will, and schedules slowly are coming together.
While Freedom (in a home Northwestern 3A/4A Conference game versus Alexander Central at Patton late Friday in Â鶹´«Ã½) and East Burke (in a road Catawba Valley 2A Conference game at Bunker Hill late Friday in Claremont) resumed play in Week 8 to end three-week layoffs, Draughn finally set its first game back from what will be a four-weeks-and-change hiatus by announcing on Thursday that it will host Western Highlands 1A/2A Conference opponent Mitchell at 2 p.m. this coming Saturday, Oct. 19, for Week 9.
The game is being played on a Saturday due to special provisions put into place by the WHC, whose communities mostly are in the mountains and were hit particularly hard by the storm on Sept. 27.
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“Most of our conference teams are starting back next week with athletics, but face nighttime travel restrictions,†wrote DHS coach Chris Powell on the team’s Facebook page. “We will work on the following weeks’ schedules next week.â€
These decisions and a wholesale resumption of play came after the NCHSAA extended the fall season by a week with a Wednesday decision. For football, this comes with a stipulation that a minimum of three calendar days must occur between contests as teams seek to make up for lost time. Sunday practices and games remain disallowed.
“Changes to the fall calendar are difficult as well as complex but necessary,†said NCHSAA President Stephen Gainey and NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker in a joint statement. “Keeping our student-athletes safe as we try to minimize risk of injury was central to any decisions made. We commend the work of the NCHSAA staff in its research, the Board of Directors in making time to consider these changes, and the willingness of our host partners to accommodate any changes and make their venues available.â€
The Cavaliers will follow up their road trip to Bunker Hill by hosting Lincolnton this Friday, visiting West Lincoln on Oct. 25, hosting West Caldwell on Nov. 1, visiting Newton-Conover on Nov. 5 and hosting Bandys at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The Patriots’ home game versus the Cougars at PHS will be followed by another crosstown home game against South Caldwell at Patton this Friday, along with road games at Ashe County on Oct. 25, Watauga on Nov. 1 and Hibriten on Nov. 8.
Additionally after the NCHSAA changes, the reporting deadline has been moved from Nov. 1 to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, and seeding will follow after 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10.
The new playoff schedule includes the first round on Nov. 15, the second round on Nov. 22, the third round on Nov. 29, regional semifinals on Dec. 6, regional finals on Dec. 13 and state championships from Dec. 20-21.
Here are the changes made by the NCHSAA as they apply to other fall sports:
BOYS SOCCER
The weekly contest limit has been extended to four to allow teams to make up multiple postponed games.
The reporting deadline has been moved from Oct. 31 to 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 6. Seeding will take place on Nov. 7.
The revised playoff schedule includes the first round on Nov. 9, second round on Nov. 12, third round on Nov. 14, regional semifinals on Nov. 16, regional finals on Nov. 19 and state championships from Nov. 22-23.
CROSS COUNTRY
The reporting deadline has been moved from this coming Saturday to 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 22.
Regionals now will be held on Oct. 26 and state championships are scheduled for Nov. 2.
GIRLS GOLF
The minimum number of matches to qualify for regionals has been reduced from five to three.
GIRLS TENNIS
The individual reporting deadline has been moved from 3 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Monday to allow for another day of competition. Individual regionals will be held this Friday through Saturday. Individual state championships will be held from Oct. 25-26.
The dual-team reporting deadline has been moved from Oct. 10 to 11:59 p.m. this Thursday. Seeding will take place this Friday. The first round will be held Oct. 21, followed by the second round on Oct. 23, third round on Oct. 28, regional semifinals on Oct. 30, regional finals on Nov. 5 and state championships on Nov. 9.
VOLLEYBALL
The weekly contest limit has been extended to eight to allow teams to make up multiple postponed matches.
The reporting deadline has been moved from this Wednesday to 11:59 p.m. this coming Saturday, with seeding to take place after 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20. The revised playoff schedule starts with the first round on Oct. 22, followed by the second round on Oct. 24, third round on Oct. 26, regional semifinals on Oct. 29, regional finals on Oct. 31 and state championships on Nov. 2.